“I have lost everything in search of justice. The courts really tested my patience. In nine years, Rs5m to Rs6m have been spent on cases. Now there are neither resources nor hope, nor any other solution in sight. I consider suicide forbidden in Islam, but if I have to choose any ‘other path’, do ensure justice for my children.”

This was the video message of former Nestle employee Muhammad Asif Javed, which he uploaded on Facebook on Feb 24, for his fellow workers and the media before leaving Khanewal for the hearing of his case in Lahore High Court. He titled his message as ‘Nine Years of Injustice’.

Forty-one-year-old Muhammad Asif Javed sprinkled himself with petrol and set himself on fire on Feb 25 on the premises of the Lahore High Court. He was shifted to the Mayo Hospital where he died after struggling for life for two days.

He lived in a rented house in Madina Town, Khanewal. He graduated from Multan, got hired as a process operator in the Nestle plant in tehsil Kabirwala of district Khanewal in 2007 and was made a permanent employee a few months later. 

Asif was dismissed from his job by the factory management in 2015 after he appeared before a government inquiry committee. Despite the order of the labour court, Nestle did not implement the reinstatement decision. He has been struggling for justice ever since.

Curse of ‘contractual system’ and fight between contractures 

Muhammad Hussain Bhatti, who was the president of CBA union of the Nestle factory in 2015, says that although Asif Javed was never an office-bearer of the CBA, he used to participate in the union activities and always raised his voice for the rights of the daily-wagers. He says that in most factories, only a few management employees are permanent and the rest are recruited on a temporary basis (daily wages) through contractors so that they do not have to be given rights and benefits as per the law. This is commonly called the ‘contractor system’. 

According to Bhatti, the same practice is going on in the Nestle factory. In August 2014, the labour contractor at the factory, Muhammad Ramzan (Muhammad Ramzan and Sons), died and the company hired in a new contractor,

Rana Muhammad Sami (Kameel HR Services Pvt Ltd). The new contractor stopped the entry of the old daily wage workers into the plant after a few months and started replacing them with his blue-eyed people. The union disagreed with the factory management on this issue, which led to unrest and the workers launched protests. On the night of April 6, 2015, a fight broke out between his group and the new contractor’s labour in the factory.

Dozens of workers were injured, a couple of them broke their bones and work at the plant stopped. 

“The police were called and they controlled the situation. It was decided that only the old labour would work in the factory but the company closed the gates again on these workers. Protests broke out once again and fights between contractor Rana Sami and our group became a daily routine.” 

Crime of spilling the beans before the fact-finding committee 

The factory management started registering criminal cases against the protesting workers. A total of 13 FIRs were registered, out of which four included provisions of the notorious Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

Muhammad Hussain Bhatti says that on Sept 11, 2015, a shooting took place between workers at the gate of the Nestle factory, in which several workers were injured. To investigate the incident, the Multan commissioner formed a fact-finding committee, which included the additional district collector, SP (Investigation) Khanewal, assistant commissioners of Khanewal and Kabirwala and the district labour officer.

“Asif Javed was an eyewitness to the shooting incident and this is where his misfortune started. His only fault was that he was present at the meeting of the fact-finding committee to testify to the truth. The very next day, the factory administration issued him a show-cause notice and dismissed him from his service.”

According to court records, in the show cause notice issued on Sept 23, 2015, the factory management accused Asif Javed of illegally appearing before the fact-finding committee without its permission and representing the contracted labour. 

In his response to the show cause notice, Asif Javed denied the allegations, saying that he had only gone to observe the proceedings of the fact-finding committee and his intention was not to support the rioters. 

“The factory management did not accept his explanation and, after a one-sided inquiry, dismissed him on July 11, 2016. While another colleague of ours apologised for the same allegations and he was retained in his job.”

No reinstatement despite win in labour court 

Asif Javed challenged his dismissal in the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC/labor court) Multan Bench within a week. Almost three years later, on May 25, 2019, the court announced the verdict in his favour and he won the case. The NIRC declared his dismissal unfair and ordered him to be reinstated within a month.

However, Nestle filed an appeal against this decision before the NIRC full bench in Lahore on June 3, which was dismissed by a three-member bench on Nov 23, 2020. Instead of accepting this decision, the company challenged it in the Lahore High Court.

Asif Javed’s father, Aslam Nadeem, is a retired clerk of the Punjab Highway Department, says that Asif has two widows and six children. In the pursuit of job restoration and justice, his son had spent all his savings. 

“First, Asif had to sell his car and then his house, the money was spent in the courts. He was living in a rented house, which he had not been able to pay for several months. The children’s education was neglected and he was on the verge of starvation. 

“I could only provide rations for the children from my pension. We explained a lot that it is very difficult to win over the capitalists. Instead of giving rights to the workers, multinational companies hire renowned lawyers, which impress even the judges, but he did not agree.” 

Nadeem says that Asif not only applied to the factory management several times for restoration of his job but also appealed to the chairman of Nestle in Pakistan but his appeals went unheard. Even during all these difficulties, he (Nadeem) himself kept raising his voice for the workers at every forum.

Constant delays in high court and Asif’s extreme step 

According to Aslam Nadeem, his son was sure that the Lahore High Court would give the verdict in his favour if it holds the hearing but the case was kept pending in the court for five years.

“The company was using delaying tactics. On Feb 25, Asif Javed was again given a hearing by the high court on April 8, i.e. 42 days later. This situation broke him and he poured petrol on himself and gave it fire.”

Asif Javed’s widows, Zunira and Aqsa, say that they have made ends meet in difficult circumstances but they are very proud of their husband’s struggle for the rights of workers.

Too little, too late as the government steps in 

The Punjab Assembly’s Standing Committee on Labour and Human Resources held a meeting on March 10 to take up the incident of self-immolation, in which the late Asif Javed’s widow, Zunira, his father, Nestle representatives and others participated. Committee Chairman Amjad Ali Javed directed the Nestle management to immediately reinstate the late Asif Javed’s job so that his family members could get dues and pension.

He ordered the company to respond within a week regarding the legal settlement of the matter and the amount of compensation. He also directed the Punjab labour department to examine the possibilities of providing Workers Welfare Fund, EOBI and social security to the grieving family. 

However, Asif Javed’s widow, Zunira, says that several days have passed since the meeting of the PA Standing Committee but the Nestle management has not contacted her. 

“If the dues are not received, we will also be forced to follow Asif Javed’s path, including the children.”