MIANWALI, Nov 23: The new administration of a known fertilizer factory has allegedly sacked 78 employees, including 26 working on its payroll.

Among others fired are 51 workers on a contract, a supervisor, an office-bearer of the CBA union and two working committee members.

The decision has spread panic among the Pak-American Fertiliser factory, Iskandarabad, workers who demonstrated in front of the factory and barred the employees from entering the workplace on Thursday.

CBA president Amir Nawaz Khan, secretary-general Qudratullah Khan and others condemned the administration for the decision and vowed to protect the rights of labourers.

After privatisation, they said, the new administration had started layoffs by firing the employees having an experience of 20 to 25 years. The officials were now hiring people from Multan and its suburbs.

The union representatives said they had met the local MNA and MPA and the district nazim and sought their intervention. They threatened that they would not allow the factory to run if their demands went unheeded.

bypolls: Azizur Rehman Khan and Obaidur Rehman Kallo of the Rokhri group have been elected nazim and naib nazim, respectively, of Union Council No 1, Khaglanwala, Isakhel tehsil.

Azizur Rehman has defeated Abdul Kareem Khan of Khidmat Ittehad Group, led by Dr Sher Afgan Khan, the federal minister for parliamentary affairs.

According to unofficial results, Azizur Rehman got 3,026 votes out of 5,698 while his opponent could get 2,615. Some 57 votes were rejected.

Previously, Abdul Karim returned as nazim on this seat, but his rival moved the election tribunal by challenging his educational certificate issued by a seminary. The tribunal cancelled the nazim’s election and ordered bypolls. Meanwhile, Abdul Kareem got his matric certificate from AIOU and again participated in the bypolls.