In May 2019, Hutchison Ports Pakistan sacked eight leaders of the South Asia Pakistan Terminals Democratic Workers’ Union (SAPTDWU).
The dismissal of the group, who became known as the Karachi 8, followed previous attempts by Hutchison Ports Pakistan to challenge the legitimacy of SAPTDWU after the union’s official certification as the Certified Bargaining Agent for SAPT on 30 April 2018. Over the year that followed the union’s certification, Hutchison unsuccessfully challenged the legitimacy of SAPTDWU in court, registered another union in Islamabad, sacked leaders for tabling collective demands, and filed trumped-up charges of sabotage against union leaders that resulted in the incarceration of two leaders for nine days in the absence of any evidence submitted to court.
