LAHORE, April 13: Already hit by price hike, the construction business is in for further crisis as the Federation of Punjab Contractors Associations and the Pakistan Bhatta Mazdoor Union threatening to go on strike.
Federation chairman Sardar Ishaq Khan and president Habib Kanwal announced at a press conference here on Thursday suspension of work on all development projects from April 30 if they were not allowed a 15 to 80 per cent raise in rates to cover the increase in the construction material cost.
They said contractors were not in a position to continue work owing to increase in construction costs. The price of cement had increased from Rs290 to Rs450 per bag, diesel from Rs15 to Rs40 per litre, bitumen from Rs18,000 to Rs30,000 per ton and iron bars from Rs38,000 to Rs42,000 per ton. Transportation charges and stone prices had also gone up.
They said cement blackmarketing provided real cause for concern. It was selling up to Rs450 per bag in the market but the construction costs were worked out at the rate of Rs310 per bag given by manufacturers. The cement manufacturers claimed to deliver it at Rs310 per bag at the factory gate but actually charged Rs350 per bag. The overcharging could not be adjusted in development costs.
They said they had drawn the attention of the chief minister towards increase in costs in a recent meeting and were waiting for the remedial measures.
They would stop work on the projects if nothing was done for providing them relief, they concluded.
BRICK KILNS: Meanwhile, the Mazdoor Union announced a countrywide strike by workers of over 15,000 kilns from April 18 to press for the implementation of the Federal Shariat Court and Supreme Court decisions on the system of advances, registration of kilns and fixing of wages at Rs500 per thousand.
Union secretary general Mahmood Butt and office-bearers of Farooqabad, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Wazirabad, Jalalpur Jattan, Raiwind and Chunian unions made the announcement at the Lahore Press Club here on Thursday.
They said the strike would continue till the settlement of the demands.
They said they had been forced to go on strike because the kiln owners were neither paying fair wages to them nor stopping harassment and detentions on the pretext of advances. They had even suspended supply of bricks recently to press for the illegal demand for legalising the advances in flagrant violation of the courts’ decisions.
They said the kiln owners had suspended the supply of bricks because the government had not taken any steps for the implementation of courts decisions and the Bonded Labour Abolition Act, 1992. It had not even bothered to take notice of the suspension of supply of bricks by the owners.
They said the workers were not ready to allow the owners to continue involving them in false cases and molesting their women and children. They were selling bricks for around Rs4,000 per thousand but were not ready to pay the notified minimum wage of Rs290 per thousand to workers.
They said the government should make a clear announcement that the system of advances in kiln industry had been abolished and owners were not authorised to victimise them on this account. The government should also order registration of kilns under the Factories Act so that the workers could get the protection of labour laws and get social security and old age benefits.