KARACHI, July 6: De-industrialization process in Sindh has picked up considerably, affecting job opportunities in the urban areas, where an official survey has found employment dropping by another 2.5 per cent during nine months of the outgoing fiscal year.

Official surveyors have counted less than 71,000 workers in the 471 industrial units during July 01-March 02 period as against about 72,500 reported to be employed in same industrial units in nine months of the fiscal 00-01.

Independent analysts and market watchers doubt the credibility of this survey, as according to them the factory owners do not provide accurate figures. “Factories and commercial establishments now engage contract labour,” a labour union activist said who pointed out that factory jobs are now temporary and a factory worker is now normally laid off, sometimes for many weeks, before completion of 90 days.

Job situation in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and other urban areas of Sindh started deteriorating since 1997 when thousands of bank employees were forcibly laid off. But it took a turn to worse since late 1999 when both the government managed institutions and private sector enterprises started cutting down on their employment without any formal announcement.

Persisting drought, crippling tax structure imposed under the influence of IMF-World Bank reforms, fluctuation in exchange value of rupee, break down of infrastructure and growing lawlessness has led to closure of one business establishment after the other in Sindh.

But the official surveyors apply the law of average when it comes to counting employed factory workers during a given period when actually a large number of them have remained jobless. Banks, insurance companies, commercial establishments and federal government controlled institutions remain outside the jurisdiction of provincial survey, and hence the doubts of the analysts and market watchers on results.

The Sindh Bureau of Statistics conducts monthly survey of industrial production and employment to collect information on 90 items manufactured in 30 selected large scale industries covering 471 industrial establishments.

These industries, according to the official surveyors account for almost 69 per cent of the total value-added production based on 1980-81 census of the manufacturing industries. Analysts and market watchers consider the weightages worked out in 1980-81 census outdated and irrelevant and are waiting for the results of the fresh industrial survey being carried out. On the basis of this survey, the year 2000-01 will be made the benchmark year and new weightages for different categories of industries will be drawn up.

The official survey has found cumulative industrial production showing an insignificant growth of 0.31 per cent during July-March 01-02 period.

About 27 per cent drop has been recorded in the local production of television sets mainly because of the flooding of smuggled sets. “But then mainly it is because of depletion in purchasing power of the consumers,” an electronic dealer explained.

Production of electric bulbs is reported to have fallen by more than 22 per cent because of the smuggling factor. Vegetable ghee, another key industry has shown a drop in production by about 18 per cent because of the growing power of informal sector that has flooded the market with loose packets of ghee prepared from imported RBD palm oil.

Sugar production in Sindh showed about 11 per cent fall because of late commencement of sugarcane crushing.

Industrial production and unemployment scene in Sindh started showing visible negative trends during 1999-2000. The official survey for the year 1999-2000 showed industrial production was down by 5.64 per cent and unemployment ratio went up by 4.30 per cent.

Over 3,000 employees had lost their jobs in Pakistan Steel during 1999-2000.

“The population of Jacobabad, Larkana, Sheikhupura, Badin, Sanghar, Umerkot and Mithi is getting less than 2,200 calories per capita per day,” was the startling disclosure of an official Sindh government document ‘Budget Analysis 2000-2001’.