In Hattar, 3,000 workers’ fate at stake as mill owners continue strike

Price of edible oil expected to rise sharply.

HARIPUR:

Three days after the production of edible oil was suspended at Hattar Industrial Estate (HIE) to protest against the torching of four tankers carrying edible oil in Karachi on Friday, the government has still not taken any measures to address the issue.

The crisis seems to deepen further with each passing day, putting the fate of over 3,000 workers at HIE at risk.

In addition to that, the livelihoods of those running roadside eateries, transporters and shopkeepers also hang in the balance due to the ongoing strike by Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA).

The market rates of ghee and edible oil are also expected to witness a sharp increase if the government and manufacturers fail to reach a consensus, severely impacting the poor who are the most vulnerable to changes in prices of food items, since they spend the majority of their income feeding their families.

Prices of allied products in which oil is a key ingredient will likewise increase if there is no effort to end the impasse.

According to PVMA, the strike will continue until the government assures secure transportation for edible oil consignments from Karachi to mills all over the country.

“How can we continue production when the government is least bothered about providing security to oil manufacturers,” said HIE Vice President Tayyab Khan Swati. He added that the ghee industry is one of the biggest employer and contributor to taxes.

“We will have no choice but to sack the employees once the stock of raw material is exhausted. Most of us only have stock for two days,” said Ziaur Rehman, the general manager of a Hattar-based ghee manufacturing unit.

HIE is the second biggest industrial zone in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with eight ghee and oil manufacturing units. In addition to that, Abbottabad district also houses a ghee manufacturing unit.

These industries have a strength of nearly 3,000 workers, with over 30 per cent working on daily wages.

According to informed sources, each unit produces approximately 250 to 300 tons of oil daily.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2012.