KARACHI, Sept 7: Over a 1,000 daily-wage workers of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) have demanded that their services be regularized immediately.

The workers took out a procession, which, after marching on various city roads, came to the newspaper offices to appraise the media of their exploitation at the hands of a government-run organization.

The rally was organized jointly by the SSGC Daily Wagers Mazdoor Union and the People’s Unity.

The People’s Unity chief Riaz Akhtar Awan, who was leading the procession, said that over a 1,000 workers had been employed by the company through a contractor and many of them had been working for over 20 years with the company. He said that they were getting Rs96 a day, and after meeting daily expenses, like transport, lunch, tea etc, they could only save around Rs6 daily, an insufficient amount to feed their families.

Mr Awan demanded that till their services were regularized, they be paid at least Rs 6,000 monthly, so that they could feed their families, and that medical and other facilities that were available to the regular employees be also given to them.

The participants of the rally were chanting slogans against the top management of the company and demanding that their services be regularized. They were also carrying banners and placards with their demands written on them.