KARACHI:
Workers at the Gadani ship-breaking yard called off their two-day strike on
Tuesday after their demand of restoring sacked colleagues was accepted by the
employers.
Around
360 workers, including 260 daily wagers and 100 watchmen, were fired on May 16
by the yard owners, apparently as part of a cost-cutting plan. “We opposed the
move as it was taking the labourers’ right to livelihood,” Ship-Breaking
Mazdoor Union president Bashir Mehmoodani told The Express Tribune.
At
first the labourers tried to negotiate with the employers but when it did not
work they resorted to a strike, Mehmoodani said. He added that on the first
day, the road leading to the yard was blocked and on the second day work was
completely halted. It was after this that the Pakistan Ship Breakers
Association offered to mediate, Mehmoodani explained. “The union called on the
head of the association, Dewan Rizwan Farooq, at his office,” he said.
In
the meeting, it was decided that the sacked labourers will be immediately
restored, he said. A four-member committee of the ship breakers was also formed
to ensure implementation of the agreement.
Sacked
labourer Amir Buksh said he and his colleagues were fired in retaliation over
the FIRs registered against their employers in case of injury or death at
workplace due to lack of safety. He said, they were told that the employers
would not hire any locals from now on due to the workers’ movement against
violation of labour rights.
Source: the express tribune. 24 May 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment