July 13, 2002	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

HUB, July 12: More than 8,000 factory workers of Lasbela Industrial Estate Development Authority (Lieda) are not covered by any benefit institution of the provincial government, it was learnt on Friday.

There are 107 industries in production in Lieda and over 15,000 workers are employed there. Of those, 93 factories are in Hub, four in Uthal and 10 in Gadani and Winder.

Only 9,000 workers are registered with the provincial labour department and the rest are working with contractors on daily wages.

Sources revealed that only 6,500 of the 15,000 workers were registered with Balochistan Employees Social Security Institution and could avail medical facilities. More than 15,000 dependentsof the workers were getting the facilities provided by the institution.

The workers at Gadani ship breaking yard are also not being covered by any benefit providing institution nor are they registered with the labour department.

“There is no hospital, dispensary or school to provide education or health facilities to the workers and their dependents at the ship breaking yard,” they said.

PTCL workers: More than 300 daily wage workers of Pakistan Telecommunication Company in Balochistan have been deprived since 1999 of an increase in their wages announced by the company, it was learnt.

In 1999 the PTCL raised the salaries of daily wage workers. After the raise, Rs250 per day was fixed for skilled workers and non-skilled workers in other provinces are getting Rs160 per day since then. But workers in Balochistan are getting Rs72 per day, sources said.