FAISALABAD, Jan 24: Workers of the Crescent Textile Mills staged a sit-in outside the office of district Nazim and took out a protest rally against their retrenchment and failure of the management to provide 'legitimate rights' to them here on Monday.

The protesters, carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans, marched through Sheikhupura Road, Jail Road, Circular Road and Kutchery Road. They raised slogans against the mills management and warned of 'action' if their demands were not accepted within 24 hours. Their leaders said hundreds of workers were sacked without any justification about a couple of years ago and the practice was still going on unabated.

They said in December, 2003, an agreement was signed between the mills management and the labourers at a meeting presided over by district Nazim Zahid Nazir and it was agreed that terminated employees would be reinstated. But the agreement has yet to be implemented after the passage of over 13 months, they added.

They said roads leading to the mills would be blocked and sit-in in front of the main gate would be staged on Tuesday which would continue till the acceptance of their demands.