KARACHI, Oct 28: Speakers at a rally on Monday said that if problems of the Prince Glass workers were not solved in the meeting to be held on Oct 31, the workers will take over the factory premises and hold protest demonstration on the National Highway.
Representatives of the workers had set up a hunger strike camp outside the Karachi Press Club for the last many days. City Nazim Naimatullah Khan visited the hunger strike camp and on his request the workers ended their strike.
The Nazim expressing solidarity with the protesting workers said that he would always be with them and try to assist them in solving their problems by raising his voice in their support.
National Labour Federation chief Mohammad Islam said he had received an invitation for a meeting by the Sindh chief secretary on the issue. He said the meeting, to be attended by the City Nazim and other officials, would be held on Oct 31 and if the issues being faced by the Prince Glass workers were not resolved, the workers would take a direct action and take over the factory premises and would close it down.
He said the factory had been sold many years back and it was now being operated by the new management without retaining the previous workers.
He said over 700 workers had been running from pillar to post for the past many years. He demanded that the arrears of the workers amounting to over Rs70 million be paid to them immediately.
PTWPU HOLDS DEMO: Speakers at a demonstration alleging widespread corruption in medical department of the PTCL demanded judicial probe into the matter.
The demonstration was organized by the Pakistan Telecommunication Workers’ Pak Union (PTWPU) at the Karachi Press Club on Monday. The speakers claimed that while the organization spent over Rs1.5 billion on administration, the workers were denied even their basic medical facilities.
They demanded that assets of all those official and their family members who had remained at the helm of affairs in the department be scrutinized. They criticised the appointment of a large number of people on high salaries.
They demanded establishment of PTCL hospitals in big cities, special ward facility for all patients who undergo bypass surgery, angiography and angioplasty and establishment of PTCL counters in hospitals which are on its panel.
PTWPU general-secretary Shahid Ayub and National Labour Federation chief Mohammad Islam spoke on the occasion.