PESHAWAR, Aug 6: The National Labour Federation (NLF), a labour wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami, organized a protest demonstration against the sacking of workers from different industrial units outside the Peshawar press club on Tuesday.

Addressing the protesters, NLF Provincial President Abu Saeed Jaffari deplored the sacking of workers from Chashma Sugar Mills, D I Khan, and Askari Cement Factory, Nowshera, and demanded their immediate reinstatement.

He flayed the role of the NWFP Labour Department which, according to him, was denying the basic right of association to the employees of industrial units.

Criticizing the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government, he said the government had not allocated a single rupee for workers’ welfare in the provincial budget.

Mr Jaffari accused the managements of Lakki cement factory, Pezu Darra, D I Khan and Askari cement, Nowshera, of refusing to recognize the status of workers’ union (bargaining agents) in their respective units.

He said that the management of Chashma sugar mills had sacked 70 workers for raising their voice for their rights. The MMA government, he alleged, was also giving protection to the factory owners instead of paying heed to workers’ demands.

Provincial General-Secretary NLF Habibullah Shah urged the MMA government to look into the inhuman working conditions at various industrial units.

The industrial workers, he said, voted for the MMA during the general elections in the larger interest of the working-class people, but the MMA too was defending the factory owners.

He urged the NWFP government to lift the ban imposed on different associations and accept demands of class-IV employees.

Through a resolution, the NLF leaders also demanded an inquiry into the affairs of the NWFP Text Book Board and endorsed the demands of printers and publishers association of the NWFP.