Out on the streets: Sacked workers of Schneider Electric stage protest
Workers were fired over campaigning for demand of increase in salaries and obtaining benefits of permanent employees
Workers were fired over campaigning for demand of increase in salaries and obtaining benefits of permanent employees. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI:
Seventeen workers of the Schneider Electric Pakistan (Private) Limited took to the streets on Tuesday in protest, claiming that they were sacked by their management for demanding an increment.
They were joined by workers from different sectors as an expression of solidarity with their comrades.
According to the workers, who held a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club, they were fired because they campaigned for their demand of an increase in salaries and obtaining the benefits of permanent employees.
One of the 'sacked' workers, Waqas Riaz, told The Express Tribune that he received a termination letter on October 10 at his home address.
Riaz said that he had been working at the company for almost two years and received a salary of Rs17,000 per month. He maintained that for the past few months, he and his colleagues had been asking their management to make them permanent employees and increase their salaries.
The management refused to do so and when the workers resisted and started campaigning more vigorously, they were fired, he said. "All 17 workers belong to the services and maintenance department [were fired]," he said. "A few workers who retreated from their demands are still working at the company."
National Trade Union Federation president Rafiq Baloch commented that according to Section 2 of the West Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Order) Ordinance, 1968, a company is lawfully bound to confer the permanent title on a worker, along with benefits, if he/she works with it for more than nine months. Meanwhile, Schneider Electric refused to give any comment, saying that these workers were hired by a third party and the company bore no responsibility to them.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2016.
Seventeen workers of the Schneider Electric Pakistan (Private) Limited took to the streets on Tuesday in protest, claiming that they were sacked by their management for demanding an increment.
They were joined by workers from different sectors as an expression of solidarity with their comrades.
According to the workers, who held a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club, they were fired because they campaigned for their demand of an increase in salaries and obtaining the benefits of permanent employees.
One of the 'sacked' workers, Waqas Riaz, told The Express Tribune that he received a termination letter on October 10 at his home address.
Riaz said that he had been working at the company for almost two years and received a salary of Rs17,000 per month. He maintained that for the past few months, he and his colleagues had been asking their management to make them permanent employees and increase their salaries.
The management refused to do so and when the workers resisted and started campaigning more vigorously, they were fired, he said. "All 17 workers belong to the services and maintenance department [were fired]," he said. "A few workers who retreated from their demands are still working at the company."
National Trade Union Federation president Rafiq Baloch commented that according to Section 2 of the West Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Order) Ordinance, 1968, a company is lawfully bound to confer the permanent title on a worker, along with benefits, if he/she works with it for more than nine months. Meanwhile, Schneider Electric refused to give any comment, saying that these workers were hired by a third party and the company bore no responsibility to them.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2016.