Occupational hazards: Teenage labourer yet to be compensated for injury

Amar Jalal, 15, lost his hand at a paper factory in Hattar Industrial Estate.

HARIPUR:

Over a dozen people have lost their lives while 15 to 20 people have suffered limb amputations in the past three years while working in different factories of Hattar Industrial Estate in Haripur.

According to the Hazara chapter of National Labour Federation (NLF), this is because labour laws about occupational safety and health are not being implemented in the industrial site.

Fifteen-year-old Amar Jalal is one such industrial worker who suffered a work-related injury and has not been able to get back on his feet since then. Jalal lost a hand in a work accident in December last year, however, his employers neither paid for his treatment nor gave him financial compensation as the underage youngster was not a permanent employee of the factory.

Jalal had to drop out of school when his father, a daily wage earner, got diagnosed with a mental illness and the family began facing financial problems. In search of a job, Jalal moved to Haripur from his native village of Sowari in Buner district.



Six months ago, a relative already working in a paper mill in Hattar Industrial Estate got Jalal a job on a monthly salary of Rs8,000. The factory’s management posted the underage boy to the paper cutting machine without any safety training on the risks involved.

Furthermore, Jalal was posted in the factory’s night shift from the beginning of his employment. “I was so overwhelmed with having to fulfil my family’s needs that I never inquired why they only kept me in the night shift, neither did I ask them for an appointment letter or an employee card,” said Jalal.

Not knowing what fate had in store for him, Jalal went to work on December 13, 2013 and began his work on the paper cutting machine. “Sometime during my shift, my right hand got stuck in the machine and I lost nearly half of my hand and four fingers,” he said.

His fellow workers and supervisor rushed him to the factory dispensary, and later, one his employers took him to Ayub Medical Complex where he was hospitalised for around one and half months.

“Initially, I thought the doctors would stitch the amputated fingers back on my hand, but when they told me the hand could not be repaired I was inconsolable,” recalls the teenager.

After being discharged from the hospital, Jalal went back to the factory but the employers neither reinstated him back to his former position nor did they pay him any financial compensation for the disability. “They made hollow promises of giving me job back after some time, however, they have not done so yet,” said Jalal.

The factory’s management could not be reached for comment despite several attempts.

Laws flouted openly

NLF Hazara Chairman Mian Zahoorul Haq told The Express Tribune 15 to 20 cases of limb amputations had been recorded in the past three years from various factories on the industrial estate, owing to a lack of occupational safety measures.

“Several sections of the Factories Act 1934 specifically deal with occupational safety and health which is criminally ignored in the industrial concerns of Hattar,” lamented Haq.

Under the Factories Act, any worker who loses a limb has the right to compensation and disability pension after a doctor has determined the extent of the injury and disability, he added.

He further informed that over 20,000 industrial workers are employed at 169 operational factories in Hattar Industrial Estate. However, not one single factory has appointed a safety engineer, as is mandatory under labour laws.

Accusing the labour department of being in cahoots with the owners of factories, Haq said due to poor monitoring by the labour inspector and other departments, child labour and salaries lesser than the minimum wage remain rampant in Hattar.

Qamar Hayat, Executive Director of SAHARA Foundation, an NGO working for the rights of industrial workers, said around 15 to 20 underage workers are employed in each unit at Hattar Estate. “To avoid being noticed by the authorities, the owners and labour contractors post these underage workers in the night shift,” said Hayat. He offered legal assistance to Amar Jalal and vowed to win his rights through court.

Haripur Labour Inspector Zafar Mashwani confirmed Jalal’s hand was amputated at Paramount Paper Mills in December. However he refused to comment on the violations of labour laws in the estate.

Haripur Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dr Amjad Qureshi promised to take up the case with the concerned industrial unit and help the victim get his due rights.

He also resolved to make efforts for ensuring implementation of labour laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2014.