Workers Resistance

Author: lwp

  • Contract workers protest against Gujrat EDO Health

    LALAMUSA, May 12: Contract employees of Health Department in district Gujrat held a protest demonstration at Kutchery Chowk, Gujrat, against alleged misbehaviour of EDO Health and non-regularisation of their services.

    The protest started May 11 afternoon and was continuing till filing of this report in the evening. The protesters including women kept the road blocked for hours.

    The protest has been organised by the All Health Association Gujrat, while members of YDA, PMA, Nutrition Association, Allied Health Professionals Association and National Programme employees i.e. LHWs also participated in it.

    Hundreds of protesters, coming from BHUs, Sub-Centres and Rural Health Centres in district Gujrat were holding placards, and chanting slogans against EDO Health Gujrat.

    The protesters alleged that the EDO Health didn’t listen to them and he behaved like a dictator. They alleged that his attitude with female staffers was not suitable. They said contract employees in all parts of the province had been regularised but the EDO Health Gujrat made no effort in this regard. Economic murder of 437 contract employees and their children was not acceptable, they said.

    Dr Abid Ghauri and DCO’s representative held dialogue with All Health Association Gujrat President Chaudhry Jamil Ahmed, but no result was produced. Protesters continued their protest till in the evening.

    Later, DCO Liaquat Ali Chattha and Assistant Commissioner Mian Iqbal Mazhar paid a visit to the protesters and took some representatives to the DCO office for dialogue to end the protest. Talks were underway till filing of the report.

    When contacted, EDO Health Dr Ijaz Haider said he was in meeting with health secretary in Lahore.

    Published by Daily The News on May 12, 2015

  • Women workers for relaxation in working hours

    BAHAWALPUR, May 2: Women sanitary workers of the Bahawalpur Waste Management Company chose the Labour Day on May 1 to raise their problems.

    About 30 workers held a meeting at Christain Colony and spoke about their problems such as health, education, medical leave during duty hours and forced termination from service.

    Rehana Asif and Richard Saleem addressed the gathering. They demanded that women workers be given relaxation in duty hours and be posted near to their homes.

    They demanded the reinstatement of workers, concession for non-Muslims during their religious festivals and registration of workers with the Social Security Department and Employees Old Age Benefits Institution.

    The PPP also marked the Labour Day which was organised by PPP City President Safdar Shehbaz.

    Speakers paid rich tributes to the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for introducing reforms for the workers and celebrating the May Day in the country. Workers demanded cheap essentials for the labour class.

    The PWD Workers Union also took out a procession from its zonal office to Farid Gate. Union zonal chairman Asghar Chishti and secretary Afzal Mehmood demanded that the Punjab government eliminate anti-workers laws.

    Apca activists also brought out a rally, led by provincial general secretary Fakhrur Rehman Azhar who urged the Punjab government to revise clerks’ pay scales in proportion with the rising prices of essential commodities.

    Published by Daily Dawn on May 2, 2015

  • Rallies, seminars organised in Balochistan to mark Labour Day

    QUETTA, May 2: Various organisations organised rallies and seminars here on May 1 to mark the International Labour Day and pay homage to the martyrs of Chicago who sacrificed their lives for the rights of workers.

    Demonstrations were also held in other district headquarters of Balo­chistan.

    Speaking at the programmes held in Quetta, representatives of the Balochistan Labour Fed­eral, Pakistan Workers Confederation, All Pak­ist­an Labour Feder­ation and National Organi­sation of Postal Employees vowed to continue their struggle for the rights of workers.

    They said those who sacrificed their lives in Chicago on May 1, 1886, were demanding better working conditions, pay raise and protection for jobs but force was used against the peaceful protesters.

    The speakers said workers still faced such problems and whenever they raised voice for their rights governments used force against them.

    They said workers in Pakistan had been struggling for their rights for past six decades, but successive governments had always tried to suppress their movements. They alleged that governments had always tried to protect the interests of employers.

    The speakers termed International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) pro-imperialistic organisations and accused them of encouraging governments in Pakistan to make anti-labour laws.

    They said trade unions of the country would never allow the government to privatise profit-making national enterprises.

    Published by Daily Dawn on May 2, 2015

  • Workers to take to street today for gas, electricity

    LAHORE, May 1: The working class all over the world will commemorate the Labour Day on May 1 (today) by staging rallies and holding meetings to pay a homage to Chicago martyrs while workers in Pakistan will take to street primarily for electricity and gas, non-availability of which has rendered hundreds of thousands of them jobless.

    Lack of recognition on the part of the government, denial of fundamental right of freedom of association besides the law and order situation will include the other challenges the working class will be highlighting during their May Day engagements.

    Electricity and gas outages resulted in partial or complete closure of scores of industrial units, especially in the textile sector. The situation also slowed down the economic growth, increasing unemployment rate to an alarming level.

    “Trade union is the basis of democracy but it has not been given its due recognition though it has always been on the forefront in every movement,” says trade union leader Khurshid Ahmed.

    The present regime has completed two years in office but it has yet to take measures to ensure fundamental rights of workers, especially women. There should have been measures to revive tripartite labour conference, include rural or agricultural sector workers in the minimum wages mechanism and revival of independent factory inspection machinery.

    Ironically, measures have also not been taken to ensure provision of free and uniform education to each child, jobs to the youth and ‘decent’ working conditions and rational wages to the workers along with social protection against sickness, accidents, old-age, elimination of abuse of child and bonded labour in society, says Mr Ahmed.

    All Pakistan Workers Confederation President Rubina Jamil says a demonstration will be staged in front of Alhamra on The Mall on May 1 to commemorate the historic struggle of the Chicago martyrs.

    She says the government should introduce measures for social and economic uplift of women who constitute more than half of the population, by ensuring equal opportunities of education and employment, elimination of discrimination against them and enforcement of the principle of equal pay for equal work.

    Pakistan, she says, has been a signatory to 36 conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). However, the government has yet to formulate laws in conformity with the eight core ILO conventions.

    Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan Secretary-General Syeda Ghulam Fatima says a massive rally will be staged outside the Dyal Singh Mansion on The Mall that will pass through Charing Cross and culminate in front of a banquet hall near Mozang Chungi where a seminar will be held.

    “Senator Hasil Khan Bizenjo, National Party president, and provincial minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman will be key speakers at the seminar on “GSP Plus Status and compliance of labour standards,” she says.

    All Pakistan Trade Union Federation Information Secretary Yasir Gulzar says the workers will march from the federation office in Gulberg industrial area up to the Punjab Assembly building against “capitalism and exploitation besides for safe working conditions and dignity of work. May Day is a day to analyse the struggle of workers and trade unions for emancipation and what they gained and what they lost; to think over how to move forward against imperialist and capitalist oppression.”

    Published by Daily Dawn on May 1, 2015

  • Labour Day: Workers urged to unite in the struggle for their rights

    LAHORE, May 1st: Change is not possible without the participation of workers and labourers in the struggle for securing their rights, Jawad Ahmed, founding president of the International Youth and Workers’ Movement (IYWM), said on Thursday.

    He was addressing a rally held to mark the Labour Day at the Charing Cross. The IYWM, the Labour Welfare Federation of Pakistan (LWFP), the Pakistan National Trade Unions’ Federation and the Kissan Ittehad members participated in the rally.

    Ahmed stressed the need for changing mindsets.

    Umar Saleemi, the LWFP president said that the workers’ movement was at its weakest now despite the existence of a large number of prominent organisations. “These organisations are actually not working for the welfare of the workers,” he said. Separately, a women workers’ convention was organised by the USAID, the Aurat Foundation and HomeNet Pakistan. Speakers at the event reiterated the demand for a consolidated policy for home-based workers.

    Umme Laila Azhar, the HomeNet Pakistan executive director, said that workers had waged a long struggle to get their rights.

    “In 1884, workers had to work 10 hours a day. Female workers were also paid less than men at that time,” she said. She said that Pakistan’s home-based workers should be provided social security cover. “They must be given the right to unionise,” she said.

    A charter of demands was also presented at the event. The demands were: home-based works should be provided with opportunities to sell their goods without the involvement of middlemen; the government should ratify International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions C-177 and C-189; the government should simplify the processes of registration of unions in the informal sector; local government elections should be held without any delay; and women workers in the informal sector should set the minimum wages.

    The participants also demanded that October 20 be celebrated as the national day for home-based workers.

    The Bonded Labour Liberation Front, the All Pakistan Workers’ Confederation, the National Trade Union Federation and the Pakistan Workers’ Federation will hold similar events today to mark the Labour Day.

    Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is going to announce the labour policy.

    Published in The Express Tribune, May 1st, 2015.

  • Nadra employees go on strike for acceptance of their demands

    Karachi, May 1: The employees of National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) staged a sit-in at its headquarters in the city for the acceptance of their demands.

    The sit-in began at 11am and continued till 4pm.

    The general secretary of All Pakistan Nadra Employees Union, Salman Zuberi, said the main demand of the workers was to have representation in the provincial committee set up by the Nadra chairman to resolve the problems of employees.

    “If the workers don’t have representation in the committee, how will their problems be resolved?” he asked.

    He said two months ago, the employees had planned to stage a sit-in outside the Nadra office in Islamabad in connection with issues pertaining to regularisation and payment of overtime allowance.

    However, negotiations were held with the Nadra chairman and it was decided that nine regional committees will be set up to resolve the workers’ problems.

    Zuberi said a committee had been formed for Sindh but without the representation of any employees.

    He said the sit-in will continue on May 4 as well.

    Hundreds of people who visited the 56 Nadra offices in the city on April 30 returned without any progress in their cases.

    The offices will remain closed on May 1 on account of Labour Day, while the sit-in will also continue on May 4.

    Not a single Nadra official in Karachi was available for comment while the director public relations in Islamabad asked to be dropped an email with the relevant questions.

    Published by Daily The News on May 1, 2015

  • Apca procession for better wages

    LAHORE, April 24: A large number of government employees on April 23 took out a procession from Nasser Bagh to the Civil Secretariat on the call of the All Pakistan Clerks Association (Apca) to press for their demands of better wages.

    Similar processions were held in front of the offices of all the district coordination officers across Punjab, claimed a press release.

    Apca leaders, Sultan Mujaddadi, Muhammad Afzal, Abdul Shakoor and Nadeem Chughtai, said all the roads in Lahore would be blocked on May 7 if Apca demands were not met. This would be followed by a siege of the Punjab Assembly on May 14.

    They urged the chief minister to take care of the government employees, giving them wages as per the inflation rate.

    Published by Daily Dawn on April 24, 2015

  • Wapda workers union protests privatisation plan

    PESHAWAR, April 23: The All Pakistan Wapda Hydroelectric Workers Union April 22 staged demonstration against the proposed privatisation plan of the government and asked it to revise the decision.

    Carrying placards and banners, the protesters, led by union’s chairman Gohar Taj and provincial chairman Haji Iqbal, gathered outside the Peshawar Press Club. They chanted slogans against the government for its privatisation policy.

    The protestors condemned the recent firing on Class-IV employees during protest demonstration against provincial government outside assembly building. They said the use of tear gas and firing on the employees was condemnable, unlawful and tantamount to keeping the government employees from demanding their rights. The union leaders said the government had failed to functionalise all its national institutions.

    Published by Daily The News on April 23, 2015

  • Metro bus project: 3 labourers electrocuted

    Islamabad, Oct 29: Three labourers of the Metro bus project have received burn injuries after being electrocuted while working on the project. According to the details, three laborers of Metro bus project were electrocuted and sustained burn injuries when they were tiding the shuttering near Kulsoom Chowk, Blue Area. The injured laborers identified as Shahjahan, Badal Shah and Irfan were immediately shifted to PIMS hospital. Badal Shah was declared critical and has been shifted to the burn unit for further treatment while Shahjahan and Irfan were said to be stable.

    Published by Daily Times on Oct 29, 2014

  • Pesco workers threaten protest

    TIMERGARA, Aug 19: The All Pakistan Hydro Electric Workers’ Union, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chairman Iqbal Khan on Aug 18 said that a protest call would be given if the Pesco authorities failed to meet their seven-point charter of demands.

    Addressing a workers’ gathering at the Fishing Hut Chakdara, he said the hydro union had long been struggling for the rights of workers.

    Iqbal Khan said that over 3,000 posts had been lying vacant in Pesco due to which it was unable to overcome line losses and recover dues. He said the vacant post were to be filled through a quota system to facilitate sons of deceased, retired and in-service employees of the power company.

    Meanwhile, several members of Paigham union, including Ziaul Haq, Shah Hussain, Ali Rahman, Mohammad Aziz, Sanaullah, Amir Nawab and Jehan Gul, quit their organisation and joined the hydro workers’ union.

    Welcoming their entry into the union, Mr Iqbal said the organisation had more than Rs20 million collected from the workers as donation which had been invested in property business to secure their future after retirement.

    Published by Daily Dawn on Aug 19, 2014