August 31, 2008	Sunday	Sha'aban 28, 1429

KARACHI, Aug 30: Several hundred sanitary workers on Saturday staged a demonstration at the Civic Centre and blocked the main University Road against the city government’s plan to hand over lifting and disposal of solid waste to a foreign firm. They staged a sit-in near the Civic Centre, housing the city government offices, and used the municipality vehicles to block the road.

The sanitary workers’ union has been observing a strike for the last three days in Saddar, Jamshed, Gulshan and Liaquatabad towns to force the city government meet their demands.

Participants of the rally urged City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal to remove the sanitary workers’ apprehensions regarding their job security after privatisation of the solid waste disposal system.

Meanwhile, DCO Javed Hanif Khan has issued a notification allowing payment of admissible salary, pension, gratuity, funds, group insurance, medical benefits and overtime to the city government’s sanitary staff.

The notification was issued following a dialogue between CDGK officials and workers’ representatives.

It stated that sanitary employees would be allowed to form unions/associations and would be transferred to M/s Shanghai Shingong Environment Production Ltd. Only those employees would be returned by company who were medically unfit or against whom any litigation was pending.—PPI