September 15, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 14, 1429

TOBA TEK SINGH, Sept 14: The Bhatta Mazdoor Union has rejected the wages of Rs443 per 1,000 bricks fixed by the government and demanded that the government fix Rs800 per 1,000 bricks.

Speaking at a press conference, Pakistan Bhatta Mazdoor Union secretary general Mahmood Ahmad Butt, union’s district president Peter John and Labour Party Pakistan district secretary Tariq Mahmood said more than 30,000 brick kiln workers in the district did not have any social security or labour laws cover.

They said 1,000 bricks made by workers were counted 980 and workers were being given minimum wages.

They said Labour Department officials, who were recently authorised by the government to inspect kilns, supported owners instead of workers.

They said although the Supreme Court had declared the bonded labour illegal, kiln owners were binding the workers through the so-called advance payment system.

They demanded that workers’ representatives be included in the minimum wages board to eliminate the IRO 2002 type anti-labourer laws, ensure government grants to workers for marriages of their daughters, provide water, gas, electricity and residence facilities to workers, set up a labour court in Toba and build labour colonies in all towns of the district.

SALARIES WITHHELD: Dozens of irrigation employees in Toba and Jhang districts have not been paid salaries for the month of August or half of their salaries have been deducted ‘without any reason’, irrigation employees representative Allah Bakhsh Sial told a press conference here on Sunday.

He said an official of the Jhang pay section not only held back more than 100 salary forms of employees, but also created hurdles to get bribe from the employees. He demanded the authorities investigate the matter and order immediate payment of salaries to all employees.—Correspondent