NOWSHERA, Oct 19: Workers of Swat Ceramics Factory locked the premises of the mills on Friday to protest against retrenchment of over 50 employees.

A large number of workers attended a rally held at Jehangira, Shaidu, to condemn mass-scale retrenchment.

Speaking on the occasion, labour leaders said that they were forced to take this action after the administration failed to honour its commitment to reinstate the workers.

They said they had taken up the issue with the district Nazim who in turn discussed the matter with the factory management and had constituted a committee. They said the management earlier agreed to reinstate the 41 workers but later reneged from its agreement and sacked another 15 workers.

They said another committee headed by the chairman of district labour and industry department held further negotiations with the management which agreed to issue appointment letters to the workers and raise their salaries and other allowances provided they agreed to disband the union. The management again backed out of the agreement, they claimed.

When contacted, the factory general manager, Malik Shah Nawaz, said that protesting workers entered the premises and went on a rampage, damaging the kiln and disconnecting telephone lines.

The security guards, however, refuted the management’s claim and said that workers did not enter the factory and lock it from outside. They said a Chinese engineer and six other people who were inside the factory got stuck inside.

According to last reports negotiations were still going on between the workers, management and the district authorities to find out a solution.

BUDGET PRESENTED: The Zila Nazim of Nowshera presented the first annual budget of Rs 820,178 for the year 2001-02 in the Zila Council here on Friday.