PESHAWAR, Oct 5: The Bhatta Khisht Labour Union (BKLU) has said that more than 150,000 workers, affiliated with the brick-kiln industry, were not provided with healthcare and educational facilities as per law of the land.

Speaking at the Atta Labour Hall here on Sunday, BKLU acting president Roman Khan said that the entire brick-kiln industry in the province was being run by the contractors, who were allegedly worst kind of exploiters.

He said it was an important sector, wherein daily wage-earners were caught in a web of bonded-labour for decades, but the government’s labour department had been ignoring their problems. He said 99 per cent of the workers were not in possession with the national identity cards, for this reason they could not cast votes, buy and sell property, if they had any, and could not appear as witness before any court or forum.

Mr Khan asked the government to order to the brick-kiln owners to help them in getting their ID cards. He said like industrial workers, their (daily wage earners) were not paid educational fees and dowry grant. He said the brick-kiln owners were supposed to contribute into the workers welfare funds, but they did not make any monetary contribution.

BKLU general-secretary Master Khudadad said brick-kiln was the biggest industry of the province, but it was in shambles owing to the gross violation of labour laws.

According to a survey, he said, at present 160,070 workers were affiliated with the industry. He said the brick-kiln workers were the backbone of the development process. “They contribute into the constructions of roads, houses, hospitals and schools, but themselves are living in ghettos,” he said and added that the workers and bricks were inseparable but yet were not Pakistan nationals. He said they and their families were constrained to live in unhygienic conditions in ghettos around the brick-kilns.

He asked the government to frame similar laws for the workers engaged with the brick-kiln industry and proposed to the provincial environment departments to conduct comprehensive surveys of brick-kilns in their respective areas and frame laws for the protection of workers’ rights. He asked the federal government to implement its decision of minimum wages in the brick-kiln industry.

Mr Khudadad demanded of the government to provide flour and other eatable items on subsidised rates to the brick-kilns workers. He also appealed to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to play its role in ending economic exploitation of the brick-kiln workers.

Haji Abdul Lateef, Noor Mohammad Mohmand, Mustejab Mazdooryar, Abdur Rehman, Nazeer Jan and Mehboob Ali also spoke on the problems of the brick-kiln workers on the occasion.

They asked the government to take necessary measures for the welfare of the workers. —Bureau Report