May 01, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1428

KARACHI, April 30: Of the 2.5 million workers employed in over 11,500 industrial units in the four main industrial estates of the city, more than 50 per cent are either daily wage earners or are employed on contractual basis.

The presence of Karachi-based workers is 50 per cent in Korangi, F.B. Area and North Karachi Industrial areas while Site has 60 per cent presence of the mega city workers.

However, the rest of employees belong to Punjab, Frontier and the Interior of Sindh.

In many industrial areas, the presence of Punjabi and Bengali- speaking workers has come down as many workers have returned to Punjab following massive industrialisation in the big province, while Bengalis left after crackdown against them.

Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) chairman Masood Naqi said the estate has over 3,500 small to large industrial units in which over 1.7 million workers are directly and indirectly engaged.

Of 1.7 million workers and staffers, he claimed 50 per cent are permanent employees while 10 per cent are daily wagers, and 40 per cent are contractual employees.

“The share of Karachi-based employees is 50 per cent while Punjab and NWFP provinces hold 20 per cent each share in employment, while 10 per cent workers hail from the Interior of Sindh,” he said, adding a major workforce comes from Shah Faisal Colony, Landhi, Korangi and Malir.

To a query that workers from the Punjab were returning to their province, he said it might have occurred in other industrial areas, but in Korangi.

SITE Association of Industry chairman Imran Shaukat said more than 3,500 units were in operation, in which 550,000 people earn their bread and butter. He, however, did not have the figures of contractual, permanent and daily wage workers, or share of Karachi workers.

Meanwhile, the immediate past chairman of SITE Ameen Bandukda said around 50 per cent of workers were daily wagers while 30 per cent are on contract basis. Only 20 per cent are permanent employees.

“The share of Karachi in total employment is 60 per cent, followed by 25 per cent from Punjab, 10 per cent from NWFP and five per cent from Bangladesh,” he said, recalling that Bengalis’ attendance in industrial areas was 15 per cent, five to six years back and a large number of them have migrated to Bangladesh after a crackdown by the government.

Similarly, four years back, Punjabi-speaking workers were 40 per cent in industrial area, as many of them had gone back because of industrial boom in Punjab.

North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI) chairman Faraz Mirza said industrial units (from small to big) hover between 2,000-2,500 in which over 150,000 people are employed.

“Around 60 per cent people are on contractual basis, while 40 per cent are permanent employees,” he said, adding Karachi-based workers enjoy 50 per cent share, while 10 per cent are from the NWFP, 20 per cent from Punjab and 10 per cent from the Interior of Sindh.

“Three years back, workers from Punjab were over 50 per cent in the area,” he said, adding a large number of Punjab-based workers has returned back owing to increasing pace of industrialisation process.

F.B. Area Association of Trade and Industry (FBATI) chairman Masroor Ahmad Alvi said the area had 2,000 big to large-scale units in which over 100,000 people earn their livelihood.

“Around 50 per cent are working on permanent basis while contractual employees and daily wagers are 25 per cent each,” he said.

The presence of Karachi-based workers in industrial area is around 50 per cent while 30 per cent hail from Punjab, while the rest belong to NFPF, Sindh and Balochistan.

“Four years back, Punjabi-speaking workers were holding 50 per cent share in industrial areas,” he said, adding even attendance of Bengali workers has come down to five per cent from 20 per cent five years back.