PESHSAWAR, May 1: Labour leaders on Tuesday criticised the privatisation policy of the present regime and termed it an anti-people move aimed at destroying the industrial base of the country and protecting exploitation of workers across the country.

They were speaking at a big meeting of workers organised by the Muttahida Labour Federation (MLF) of Pakistan, at the Archives Hall to pay tribute to May Day martyrs who, some 121 years ago, had laid down their lives in their struggle for better working conditions and other socio-economic perks for the working class in the United States.

They said that things for the working class had not changed in the country since the Independence, as they were still living and working in an environment which was worse than what it had been 121 years ago in the Haymarket area of Chicago, where workers had put up some demands for better working conditions.

They criticised the privatisation of industrial units and contract system which, they said, had deprived the workers of their basic right to form a union to safeguard their interests.

MLF Central President Gul Rehman, Provincial President Mohammad Iqbal, Swat President Abdur Razzaq, Haji Javed and labour leaders Aurangzeb Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Pervez Khattak, Sher Mohammad and Ajmali Khan highlighted problems being faced by skilled and unskilled workers in the country.

They said that both federal and provincial governments had failed to protect rights of the workers, adding that the entire country was being run by an unholy alliance of industrialists, civilian bureaucrats and their masters in khaki.

They said that the Industrial Relations Ordinance (IRO) 2002 had deprived workers of their basic rights.They said that a majority of industrial units in Swat, Gadoon, Kohat Road, Hyatabad and in Hattar had been closed down on one pretext or the other. They said that industrialists had been enjoying all perks and privileges granted by the government, but they were not ready to pay minimum wages to workers who worked in their industries.

The labour leaders said Saleem and Khazana Sugar Mills had been closed but workers and farmers, who had worked for these two sugar mills, had been paid their dues.

They said that working journalists and newspapers workers had been struggling for the last seven years to get their Wage Award implemented, but neither newspaper owners nor the government were willing to implement it. They demanded of the government to abolish the Privatisation Commission and stop privatisation of profit-earning institutions.