Jutt, a long term Nestlé employee, was fired by the management for trying to form a union. He self-immolated after a decade-long legal battle.
by Abdul Rahman
Workers unions, left parties, and family members of Asif Jutt continue to mobilize in Pakistan against the systemic violations of workers rights. Their struggle for justice follows the tragic suicide of Jutt, a long-term Nestlé employee, who died by suicide after a decade-long battle against company management failed to bring him justice.
A desperate act of protest
Mohammad Asif Javed Jutt, also known as Asif Jutt, self-immolated on February 25 inside the premises of Pakistan’s Lahore High Court in protest against the anti-worker and illegal practices of his former employer, the multinational Nestlé corporation. He succumbed to his injuries in a city hospital a few days later.
Jutt worked for Nestlé for 16 years before being fired by the management for trying to form a union in 2016. He was terminated despite winning the case in the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) or the labor court. NIRC ordered his reinstatement, however, the company management delayed the execution of the order using faults in the legal procedures and inefficient judicial processes.
Using its vast resources, Nestlé was able to drag Asif’s case on for over nine years. The years of court battles and lack of alternative employment caused tremendous economic hardship for Jutt and his family. He was forced to sell his home and other assets to feed his family and cover the costs of the prolonged legal fight.
After years in court with no resolution, Jutt finally lost hope and self-immolated after yet another hearing on February 25.
His death caused a spontaneous protest outside the hospital. Since his death, the left parties in the country, led by Haqooq-e-Khalq Party (HKP) and Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP), have formed an alliance with civil society and trade union movements to seek justice for Jutt and continue his battle.
It is a collective fight for the dignity and rights of the working classes in the country against the oppressive exploitative regimes of the capital and state, stated the groups in a joint press conference in Lahore earlier this month.
They have also called for donations to support Jutt’s wife and four children.
A broader fight for justice and dignity for the working classes
Ammar Ali Jan, leader of the HKP said, what happened to Jutt exposes the nexus between Pakistan’s political elite and capital. He claimed that Nestlé was trying to make an example of Jutt by refusing to reinstate him and dragging him through court for years. Jutt faced the collective wrath of the country’s power circles and its allies in the judiciary whom he dared to challenge because of his belief in justice and rights for himself and his family.
Ali Jan claims that HKP and others have decided to continue Jutt’s legal battle against Nestlé in the court and in the streets because it is a larger fight for justice for Pakistan’s working classes.
The collective of civil society groups, the Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights (JAC) extended its solidarity and support to fight for Jutt’s mission. In a statement earlier this month JAC underlined that “the tragic incident highlights the tyranny of the judicial process that has forced a poor worker to take his life, denying him justice for a decade.” It condemned the country’s judicial system as inefficient “which doesn’t give justice, but denies dignity.”
Demanding full compensation for Jutt’s family, JAC claimed most of the multinational companies continue to violate existing labor laws. Instead, they practice oppressive policies with impunity, aided by the complicity of state authorities. It demanded that all such practices end and the government force those companies to adhere to “internationally recognized labor standards, provide required social protection to their workers, and allow unions under well established laws.”
The JAC statement was signed by HKP, All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF), Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee (PKRC) among others.
Asif Jutt’s widow also participated in the press conference in Lahore. The participants raised demands for an FIR (First Information Report) against Nestlé, holding it responsible for Jutt’s death.
Pakistan’s leading collective for women’s rights also extended their support to the fight for justice for Asif Jutt. “As feminists we have always spoken out for the dignity of work and stood against capitalist systems that exploit the global south by extracting labor,” said Aurat March Lahore.
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