MULTAN, Nov 19: Employees association of the Pak-Arab Fertilizers factory staged a demonstration here on Saturday to protest against the laying off the staff on ‘large scale’ since privatization of the plant in July this year. Scores of workers of the fertilizer unit gathered at the busy Nawan Shehr Chowk and paraded up to the local press club. The protestors chanted slogans against the new management.

Speaking on the occasion, labour leaders said over 500 workers had been laid off in four months of the privatization. There were around 2,100 employees at the plant when it was in the public sector but now the strength had reduced to 1,500.

They said the management had illegally re-employed the staff which had opted for the golden handshake at the time of the transfer of plant ownership. The management had expelled all the office bearers of the employees’ welfare association on Nov 16 to ‘punish’ them for raising voice against the exploitation.