Protest sit-in: Reinstated OGDC workers re-arrested

Police moved to detain workers as soon as talks with management failed.

ISLAMABAD:

Over 100 employees of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) who were recently reinstated were arrested for protesting and staging a sit-in in the company office.

The protesters were calling upon the company’s management to release their salaries withheld for the past five months and confirm their re-instatements.

“They have offered us a part of our salaries but we want full salaries. They have kept us waiting for five months,” said one of the protesters.

Initially, the protesters said they decided to protest after the management refused to accept their demands.

A large number of riot police started arresting the protesters the moment their talks with the management failed.

Some 20-30 protesters have been shifted to the Secretariat police station, more than 30 to the Kohsar police station, while some are being kept at the Margalla police station.

No case was registered till the filing of this report. However, police said  they intend to file an FIR against protesters for besieging the OGDCL office and disturbing the law and order situation.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2011.