TOBA TEK SINGH: Brick kiln workers, including women and children, took out a procession for implementation of minimum wages on Friday.

It started from Shahbaz Sharif Chowk and after marching on Rajana Road reached outside the district government complex where they staged a sit-in for more than one hour during the heavy rain.

In their speeches to the participants, Labour Qaumi Movement and Bhatta Mazdoor Tehrik leaders, Shabbir Ahmad, Perveen Malik and Begum Sajida demanded implementation on the Punjab government’s notification under which Rs962 per 1,000 bricks had been fixed as minimum wages for kiln workers.

They demanded issuance of social security and EOBI cards to the kiln workers.

Assistant Commissioner Wasif Bashir Khokhar and District Labour Officer Saeed Ahmad Dhillon held talks with the protesters and pledged that a meeting of workers and kiln owners to be presided by DCO Amer Ijaz Akbar would be held on Monday to resolve the issues. At this, the kiln workers ended their protest.

FLOOD RELIEF: Eight flood relief camps will be set up in Pirmahal and Kamalia tehsils to deal with the flood threat in the Ravi.

This was informed to participants of flood emergency plan meeting, chaired by provincial parliamentary secretary Raja Awais Kiani.

The participants of the meeting was told that Rescue 1122 would have three motor boats in Kamalia and one in Pirmahal for rescue work while fodder had been arranged for the hundreds of cattle for two weeks.

A livestock and dairy development official told the meeting that 80 animals had been vaccinated against various diseases in the areas facing flood threat.

Later, Mr Kiani visited Kamalia and Pirmahal and inspected the river Ravi spurs.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2015

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