HYDERABAD, Dec 2: A dismissed worker of Calico Mills Kotri, Riaz Kandhro staged token hunger strike outside the Hyderabad press club here on Sunday in protest against the termination of his services.
A leader of Sindh National Party (Ameer Bhambro group), Hameed Hatar, general secretary of Tehrik-i-Jafria Kotri, Qamaruddin Qureshi, two students, a woman and four children also observed hunger strike in support of Mr Kandhro.
Talking to newsmen, they said that Riaz Kandhro had received serious burn injuries during duty hours in Calico Mills but the mill management had not only paid him no compensation but had also dismissed him from service.
They gave one-week ultimatum to the mill management for paying the expenses of Kandhro’s medical treatment and reinstating him in service failing which, they warned, no vehicle will be allowed to enter Kotri SITE.
They regretted that Kotri SITE had been informally declared out of bounds for people of Sindh and thousands of persons from upcountry had been given employment in the mills of the area.
They alleged that so-called labour leaders received “monthlies” from the mill owners and the officials of the labour department behaved as if they were personal servants of the mill owners.
They said if any employee was injured during the performance of his duties, he was not paid nay compensation.
SRTC: Half a dozen ex-employees of the SRTC continued their hunger strike outside the Hyderabad press club here on fifth consecutive day on Sunday in protest against the non-payment of their golden handshake amount and other dues.
The leaders of the action committee of the SRTC ex-employees, Syed Ahmed Ali Shah, Harrison David and Abdur Rasheed Siyal told newsmen that they had been protesting for the last 11 months but the chairman of the corporation and Sindh government had remained indifferent to their plight.
On the other hand, they said, the chairman and his cronies continued to receive their salaries. They warned if the former employees were not paid their dues, they would be compelled to resort to extreme measures and the responsibility for the consequences will rest with the Sindh government and chairman of the corporation.