WORKERS’ UNIONS, left parties, and family members of Asif Jutt continue to mobilise in Pakistan against the systemic violations of workers’ rights. Their struggle for justice follows the tragic suicide of Jutt, a long-term Nestle employee, who died by suicide after a decade-long battle against company management failed to bring him justice.

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 Nestle corporation. He succumbed to his injuries in a city hospital a few days later.

Jutt worked for Nestle for 16 years before being fired by the management for trying to form a union in 2016. He was sacked despite winning the case in the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) (an employment tribunal). NIRC ordered his reinstatement, however the company management delayed the execution of the order using faults in the legal procedures and inefficient judicial processes.