HYDERABAD, Sept 22: The divisional general secretary of the All Pakistan Trade Unions Organization (APTUO), Ashraf Rajput, lashed out at the additional director, labour, Hyderabad, for cancelling the registration of the labour unions of the Azmat Textile Mills and the Pakistan Industrial Gases.

In a statement issued on Saturday, he said both the unions had submitted the results of the elections along with the annual returns to the registrar of the trade unions but their registrations had been cancelled.

He alleged that the registrations had been cancelled on the insistence of the owners of these units.

He said the additional director had failed to implement the labour laws in many factories of the area, and the labour had neither been paid the minimum wages of Rs2,500 nor the appointment letters had been issued to them.

He said in many cases the workers had not been registered for the provision of the social security cover.

He cited the example of bangle-manufacturing units, where more than 50 workers were employed but they were being denied their basic legal rights.

Mr Rajput alleged that on the insistence of the factory owners fake unions were being formed and the genuine ones were being cancelled.

He said the attitude of the additional director had created unrest among the workers. He demanded the provincial labour minister and the secretary, labour, to have the additional director, labour, transferred from Hyderabad.

SPSC: The controller of examinations, Sindh Public Service Commission, Hyderabad, has declared that candidates having roll numbers 2, 3, 16, 17, 21, 23, 39, and 45 have passed in the written part of the competitive examination for the selection of the candidates for MSc in Forestry session 2002-2004 at the Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar, held in the month of July.

The viva-voce test will be held on Sept 26.