ISLAMABAD: Senator Raza Rabbani has criticised the caretaker government for imposing the Essential Services Act on Pakistan International Airiine (PIA) and announced taking up the matter in the upper house.

`It is a matter of strong condemnation that the caretaker government has imposed the Essential Services Act on PIA. This tantamount to depriving the working class of their fundamental rights granted under the Constitution 1973,` he stated in a statement issued on Friday. He said that the PIA management since the day the referendum results were announced did not recognise the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) of the Peoples Unity along with other democratic forces. The chief executive officer called in the Rangers the moment the result was announced. Since then, the management has been taking constant steps to ensure that the CBA does not work effectively, he said.-Reporter