Mapping Labour Unions in Pakistan Section One A Brief Overview of Trade Unions in Pakistan 1.1. Historical Background Several historical developments inform the evolution of the trade unions movement in Pakistan. In terms of their history, labour laws and trade unions in Pakistan have been shaped by the British era legislation, politics and independence movement. The colonial rulers of the Indian Subcontinent(1857-1947) sought to build an economic order based on control over resources and exploitation of Indian labour. The colonial takeover of the Indian Subcontinent in 1857 was marked with orders banning textile goods and products of Indian competitors to protect the British enterprises and profits, and legislation to perpetuate labour exploitation. Two significant legislations,“Employers and Workmen Dispute Act 1860” and“Indian Factories Act 1881” have been cited as cases in point in this regard. The former restricted employees’ rights and the latter regulated child labour. 1 As the usurpation of workers gave way to protests that started as early as 1877 in Nagpur, Bombay and Madras, the labour movement in the post­colonial occupation era in the Indian Subcontinent came about in 1890 in the form of Bombay Millhand’s Association, formed by Narayan Meghaji Lokhande(also known as the Father of Trade Union Movement in India). 2 The Association sought to challenge the Factories Act 1881 that institutionalised 1. YU SHUHONG-MALIK ZIA-UD-DIN(2017),"Analyzing the Labour Issues in Pakistan: A Historical Background of Labour Laws and Labour Unions", Wuhan University, Hubei, Chinavol. 3, no. 2, 2017ISSN:2421-2695 at https://labourlaw.unibo.it/article/ view/7577/7280 2. See“History of Trade Unions in India” at https://spiritofhr.wordpress.com/industrial­disputes-act-trade-unions-act-factories-act-plantation-labor-act/history-of-trade-india-in­india/ 3