A DOUBLE bench of the Sindh High Court gave a landmark judgment on Feb 26 holding five amendments to labour laws brought about by the then government through the Finance Act, 2007, as ultra vires. This judgment has been passed in a constitutional petition filed by the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan and 14 companies against the federation. Amendments challenged through the petition pertained to the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923; West Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968; Companies Profits (Workers Participation) Act, 1968; Minimum Wages for Unskilled Workers Ordinance, 1969 and Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Act, 1976 (EOBI).
According to the judgment, none of these amendments has any link with any of the items specified in Article 73 (2) of the Constitution, which deals only with money matters. Since they do not fall within the scope of money bill, the above-mentioned five labour laws could only have been amended through passage of bill by the parliament.
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