LARKANA, March 7: The dispute over salaries of labourers between the rice millers and technical labourers in Shahdadkot further deepened as talks between the labourers and a committee of the rice millers remained inconclusive on Thursday.

The labourers who have gone on strike were protesting over the rigid stance of millers. They took out a procession from the labour hall and converged on Kotoo Motoo Chowk.

Manthar Magsi and Mehrab Kalhoro were leading the procession.

They criticised the millers’ attitude and vowed to continue their protest.

Qamaruddain Shaikh, president of the rice millers association of Shahdadkot, while talking to Dawn on Thursday, termed the protest as unnecessary and alleged that a miller, Manzoor Chandio, instigated the protest.

However, he conceded that the strike of the technical labourers had affected majority of the rice mills in Shahdadkot.

He said the demand of rise in salaries in this ‘off season’ was unjust.

The labourers were demanding increase in their salary to Rs7000 from Rs3000 per month. The millers were reluctant to accept this demand.

The talks between the two parties had failed after the millers committee pressed the labourer leaders to tender an unconditional apology for using what they called ‘indecent language’ against the millers’ president, which the labourer leaders refused.

Another labour leader Gul Mohammed Baloch representing non-technical labourers had advised the protestors to call off their protest.