HYDERABAD, April 29 The OGDC Mazdoor Union's Sindh chapter has threatened to launch a protest movement from Thursday (today) and resort to hunger strike from May 1 if their charter of demands is not accepted by the gas facility's management.

Speaking at a news conference here on Wednesday, the provincial general secretary of the union, Abdul Hameed Soomro, warned that if any one tried to sabotage their protest movement, they would suspend gas production process.

He demanded reinstatement of 1200 workers, whose services were terminated between 1993 and 1996, with back benefits and jobs for the children of the employees who had died or had been disabled in the line of duty.

He demanded establishment of the southern zone office of the OGDC with the authority of recruitment and retirement in Hyderabad, approval of workers' colony and medical centre in Hyderabad and payment of dues of the workers, including bonus, without delay.

He said that if the demands were not accepted immediately, they will launch a protest movement and the powers that be would be responsible for consequences.

He said that Sindh contributed 70 per cent of the country's oil and gas production and added that real heroes were those workers who had taken part in digging wells at the risk of their lives but their services had been terminated.

He said that it was due to these dangers that the OGDC was obliged to enter into an agreement with the workers union as a result 6,000 workers were regularised in Sindh and 12,000 workers of the other three provinces were also regularised due to the initiative of the Sindh workers.