Baldia factory fire: Victims’ families decry PM’s empty promises

Representatives demand compensation, extension of EOBI pension duration

KARACHI: Four years on, families of the victims of the Baldia factory fire are still waiting for the day when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will fulfil his promise of providing financial aid to them.

On Thursday, a large number of victims’ families took to the streets to remind the PM what he promised them on September 14, 2012, during a visit to the ill-fated factory - three days after the fire claimed more than 250 lives.

Before he became the country’s premier, the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz leader had, on behalf of the Punjab government, pledged that the victims would be given Rs300,000 in aid. He had also urged upon the then incumbent Pakistan Peoples Party government to compensate the victims in every possible way.

“We have not been given justice nor have the promises made to us materialised,” lamented Jabir Khan, the president of Ali Enterprises Fire Affectees Association (AEFAA), while addressing the demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club. “It now seems that Mian Sahab [PM Sharif] played a political card on our misery at that time just to garner support.”



Khan, who lost his 22-year-old son to the fire, added that they [the victims’ association] had tried to remind the PM of his promise a number of times through press conferences and demonstrations but nothing came of it. “The announcement is still limited to words only,” he said.

The demonstration was jointly organised by AEFAA and National Trade Union Federation (NTUF). Besides the victims’ families, a large number of labourers associated with different unions participated in the protest to express solidarity with their lost comrades.

AEFAA senior vice-president Saeeda Khatoon said that the victims’ families were in bad conditions and the situation was worsening day by day. “Most of those perished in the fire were bread earners of their families,” she said. “Their dependants are now living hand to mouth because of the apathy of the government, which does not pay heed to their concerns.”

So far, the victims have been paid around Rs1million, inclusive of death grant, compensation by the government and financial aid. They, however, still await the long-term compensation from the German discounted cloth retailer, KiK, which was the major buyer of the products made at Ali Enterprises. They demand around 30,000 Euros for each of them and assert that otherwise the calculation should be done under the International Labor Organisation conventions.

EOBI pension issue

Khatoon, who herself is concerned about her life after the one year’s courtesy awarded at the end of the pension from the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), demanded that the monthly financial support be extended throughout  one’s lifetime.

Among the ill-fated factory workers, only a few were registered with the EOBI. The rest got no benefits such as medical, loans, gratuity and other perks from their employer, despite the presence of a law to ensure these rights. In the factory case, the victims were registered with the pension fund after their demise. The prevailing rules say that the parents of a registered worker can get their pension for a period of five years, while this monthly payment was for lifetime if the beneficiaries were a spouse or children.

“Have the rulers whom we elect through our votes ever pondered [over] what would happen to the parents of the victims who are partially or fully dependent on the EOBI pension?” she asked. “This issue should be resolved at the earliest.”

NTUF deputy general secretary Nasir Mansoor commented that the pension issue could easily be resolved if the prime minister were to direct the authorities to make changes in their rule book.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2016.