TOBA TEK SINGH: A labourer on Thursday won over Rs400,000 decree in a plea he had filed against his employer — a brick kiln owner — after five years of hearing, for paying him wages at lower than the rate fixed by the government.

Rehmat Ali, a pushcart owner of Chak 328-GB, had filed a petition in 2014 against his employer and brick kiln owner Mahboob Ahmad of the same village with the labour welfare department Assistant Director Muhammad Shahbaz, with powers as a Court of Authority established under the Payment of Wages Act 1936.

The petitioner stated that he had been transporting 7,000 bricks daily for nine months (from Jan 1, 2013 to Mar 8, 2014) at the kiln on his pushcart.

He stated that instead of paying him officially-fixed labour of Rs241 for transporting 1,000 bricks, the kiln owner would pay him just Rs100 for the job.

He said that despite repeatedly demanding payment of government rate for the labour, he was never paid the actual amount by his employer.

The judge, after hearing the both sides, accepted the plea and ordered the kiln owner to deposit a total amount of Rs410,592 with the court so that the same could be disbursed to the petitioner, Rehmat Ali.

INJURED: Four devotees were injured critically when a gang opened indiscriminate fire at their rivals on the final day of annual urs of Baba Ghulam Rasool Shah Khanpuri at Chak 393-JB on Thursday.

Police said the attackers, Qaiser and his accomplices, opened fired at their opponents led by one Faisal, but they missed the target.

They said in the indiscriminate fire, four devotees attending the urs -- Amin Anjum of Faisalabad, Safdar Abbas of Chak 330-JB, Seowal, Shabbir Ahmad of Chak 324-JB, Paira and Ghulam Shabbir of Chak 393-JB, were seriously wounded.

The injured were shifted to the district headquarters hospital for treatment.

The police said the suspects resorted to firing to avenge murder of a man allegedly by the gang led by Faisal in 2016.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2019