Mapping Labour Unions in Pakistan c under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908(Act V of 1908) including the enforcement of attendance and examination under oath, the production of documents and material objects, and the issuance of commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents. The IRO 2002 abolished the Labour Appellate Tribunal. Any party aggrieved by an award/decision by the Labour Court may now submit an appeal to the High Court(Article 48 of the IRO 2002). The High Court, may vary or modify an award or decision or decision sanctioned by the Labour Court. 2.4.2. National Industrial Relations Commission The National Industrial Relations Commission(NIRC) was initially created in the year 1972 by amending IRO 1969 and was maintained by successive statutes namely IRO 2002, IRA 2008, IR0 2011 and is now constituted under Section 53 of IRA 2012. 27 It regulates relations between employers and workers and deals with the unfair labour practice on the part of employers and workers, resolution of industrial disputes, registration of trans-provisional trade unions in Islamabad and determination of Collective Bargaining Agents. It is headed by a retired or serving judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and its members are retired or serving District and Session Judges, Federal Government Officers, Registrar of the NIRC. Its head office is located in Islamabad, but its branches are located in all provincial headquarters(Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta), Multan and Sukkur. In interviews, trade unions shared a very negative experience of labour courts, high courts as well as NIRC. • Cases are needlessly delayed and often relief is not provided to the workers. • There is an acute shortage of labour lawyers. Even if the workers or trade unions find them, they are expensive and workers cannot afford to pay their heavy fees. There are very few lawyers willing to work on a pro bono basis. • Most Labour Court judges also do not understand the context and ground realities of workers-employers relations. They end up displaying a biased attitude towards workers. Trade unions complain of extremely 27. National Industrial Relations Commission at http://www.nirc.gov.pk/ 34