11th May 2012 – Nine Union officers and a member of the Pearl Continental Hotel Employees Union Lahore face fabricated criminal charges following the Union’s victory in a representative election in February.
To Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, President
Mr. Yousuf Raza Gillian, Prime Minster
Mr. Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Federal Minister for Human Rights
Mr. Lateef Khosa, Governor of Punjab
Mr. Shahbaz Shareef, Chief Minister Punjab Province
Dear Sirs,
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) are angered to learn of the fabricated criminal charges made against nine Union officers and a member of the Pearl Continental Hotel Employees Union Lahore.
The efforts by management of the hotel in collusion with local corrupt politicians to try and prevent basic democratic Union rights is an insult to all Working class people and has deservedly earned the condemnation of Unions and Activists world wide.
Employees at the Pearl Continental Lahore hotel have the rights to freedom of association and have chosen their representative Union through the casting of votes, which management at the hotel have tried in vain to suppress and who refuse to accept the result which has been certified by the Punjab high court.
Management have subsequently retaliated by setting fire to the human resources department, laying blame on all the Union office leaders as well as firing a number of contract Workers without warning or providing grounds for dismissal.
Since this time more serious charges have been used due to the influence of commissioner Jawwad Rafiq Malik, the man who illegally confiscated voting documents, leading to the Union president Muhammad Nasir being tried in the Anti-Terrorism courts and all bail conditions being cancelled for all those arrested.
The IWW stand in Solidarity with all members of the Pearl Continental Hotel Employees Union and insist that all charges against officers Mian Amanat Ali, Nasir Aman Sindhu, Syed Sajjad Hyder, Rashid Anwar, Yaseen ul Hassan Shah, Lateef Mulli, Naeem Subhani, Karamat Meeran, sabaz Ali and Union member Shahzad Anwar are immediately and unconditionally dropped.
The use of the capitalist (no)justice system to deny Union rights and workers rights is a clear indication of a class war by the rich bourgeoisie business elite on the Working classes which will be fought every step of the way.
We look forward to hearing from you with news of your swift actions to resolve these issues of injustice.
Yours Sincerely,
Andy Smith, International Solidarity Liaison Officer