Craftsmen unable to keep pace with inflation

Craftsmen employed as daily-wage workers in the various furniture markets of the city took part in an anti-inflation protest held a demonstration at the market at Naz Cinema that spilt over to Rawal Road in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

The protesters belonged to a labour collective of furniture market workers and included workshop owners as well.

They decried the constant increase in energy and food prices, saying that it had made the situation untenable for them. The placards highlighted the increasing electricity and gas bills and the rise in essential items like flour and sugar.

Pakistan remains in a grip of unprecedented inflation, while the government recently increased fuel prices and another nationwide increase in tariff on electricity bills of up to Rs7.5 per unit – in order to fulfil a condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – that has gone into effect.

The representatives of the labour collective said that the constant price hikes had made it hard for the workers to make ends meet.

One participant in the protest said that despite working extra hours and earning more than before, the carpenters and artisans employed at workshops are unable to earn enough to meet their needs. Despite earning more, we have not been able to keep pace with rising prices, they said. The protesters raised slogans against the government and the IMF before dispersing.

The wholesale markets in Rawalpindi provide furniture to shops in the twin cities and the surrounding hilly stations and smaller cities. Hundreds of workshops spread across the garrison city employ tens of thousands of craftsmen and workers.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2023.