PESHAWAR, Jan 10: Workers of the Kohat Cement Factory have protested against the withdrawal of prevailing facilities by the administration of the factory.

According to a press release issued here on Friday, the Kohat Cement Factory Union workers, in a protest rally, strongly condemned the withdrawal of education facility for the children of the factory workers. The union members, factory workers and the students of schools strongly protested against the step taken by the factory administration.

The general secretary of the union said the factory workers were assured of health and education facilities by the administration when it was privatized in 1992. The factory was running the Public High School and thus providing education facility to almost 700 students for the last 18 years but it had now withdrawn this facility to the children of the workers.

The government recently announced to provide free education till matriculation. The factory administration decided to withdraw its hold over the school because the factory had to pay 15 per cent tax to the government.

The workers of the factory strongly protested against this decision which was against their interest. They lamented that instead of improving the already existing educational facility for their children, it had been withdrawn.

Union President Zulfiqar Ahmad Afridi said the workers of the factory were being mistreated by the administration and if the rights of the workers were not ensured they would be forced to resort to hunger strike till the administration heeded to their demands of providing education and health facilities.

He said the sense of insecurity among the workers would affect their performance in the factory.

The workers demanded that the Public High School should not be handed over to any other body and if the factory administration did not listen to their demands they would go on hunger strike and hold protest rallies.