KARACHI, May 21: Pakistan Steel workers warned on Tuesday that if their demands were not accepted they would stage a protest demonstration at the Steel Mills on June 6.
Speaking at a press conference at the Press Club the leaders of the Joint Action Committee of Pakistan Steel Employees said that the management was not following the agreement entered into at the governor’s house on March 13.
They said that the workers had staged demonstrations at the Steel Mills but had later called off these demonstrations after the authorities had given them assurances that their demands would be accepted. They said that it seemed that even the authorities were helpless before the Steel Mills’ chairman Lt-Col Afzal.
They demanded a judicial enquiry of the affairs of the Mills, action on the FIRs of murder, corruption and theft registered against the Pakistan Steel’ chairman. They further demanded that the references sent to NAB and RAB be probed and a referendum be held in the mills, so that elected representatives could solve the issues being faced by the workers.
Women teachers who have been transferred to the plant be transferred back to their teachings posts, and the recently enhanced school fees and rents in the steel town be taken back and medical facilities be restored, sacked workers be reinstated on their posts and all the FIRs registered between Jan 31, 2002 and March 13, 2002 be withdrawn.
Criticising the government they said if a foreigner died the entire government machinery was mobilised to nab those responsible, but nine poor Pakistani workers had died nearly a year back and even the FIR was not being registered.
Abdul Sattar Butt (Pakistan Steel Officers Association) Safdar Hussain Parwaz (Pakistan steel Fabricating Officers association), Shamshad Qureshi (Peoples Workers Union Pakistan Steel), Ahsan Karim (United Workers Front of Pakistan Steel), Rana Mohammad Hanif (Pakistan Steel Labour Union), Nisar Ahmad Shar (Labour League of Pakistan Steel), Mohammad Waseem spoke.
