Fired: Ex-employee protests against dismissal

SUKKUR: The self-immolation attempt of an ex-employee of the Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC), Dur Mohammad Weesar, was foiled by the organisation’s guards on Tuesday. According to unconfirmed reports, Weesar had been working at the FFC as a driver for 11 years until he was dismissed from his duties three months ago, without prior notice. He was fired for being involved in a motor accident at the National Highway near Moro. Following his removal, Weesar had been on hunger strike outside the factory’s main gate. He told reporters that he was poor and his children were starving because he was not able to find another job. Weesar’s wife, who was carrying a copy of the Holy Quran, and his children joined him in his protest. The DSP of Mirpur Mathelo, Abbas Shah, and the media manager of the FFC, Bakhshal Khan Gudaro, assured Weesar’s wife that the matter would be investigated by the management. Talking to The Express Tribune, Gudaro said that the man was not an employee of the FFC, but was working as a driver for a contractor of the company. He said that it was the contractor who had dismissed the man and that the FFC had not played a part in his removal.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2011.