Industrial relations: Workers accuse police of backing kiln owners

Say kiln owners exploit workers, assault their families.

FAISALABAD:

Scores of brick kiln workers staged a protest demonstration on Wednesday against police for allegedly not taking action against kiln owners who they said exploited and assaulted the workers and their families.

The demonstrators besieged the office of the city police officer and blocked University Road.

They carried banners and placards with slogans against the police and kiln owners inscribed on them. The protesters also shouted slogans against the police. They demanded that senior police officials take notice of the police high handedness.

They alleged that some kiln owners had not paid their workers for several months. They also made them work over time, locked their children away and threatened to beat them. They said the children were starved.



Addressing the protest demonstration, Aslam Meraj, the Labour Qaumi Movement central general secretary, said that brick kiln owners not only exploited the poor workers, but also used violence when they demanded that they be paid.

He said several workers had approached the police, but the police had threatened them with registration of false cases. He said recently, a brick kiln worker Muhammad Waseem had demanded that he be given his salary. Instead, Meraj said, the kiln owner beat him up and his family.

He said when Waseem visited Millat Town police station to file a complaint, the police refused to file it. They, instead, registered a case against Waseem and locked him up.

Meraj said Waseem shared his case with several other workers. He said Ruby Bibi and Sonia, daughters of another kiln worker Muhammad Yousuf, were abducted on February 23 from the brick kiln in Khowa.

He said Yousaf filed a complaint, but the police did not do anything to look for the girls.

The protesters said they would not move until action was taken against the policemen.

Operations SSP Mubasshar Mekan visited the scene and tried to calm the protesters. He assured them that he would act against those involved in any policemen found guilty.

The protesters then called off their protest and dispersed, vowing to return in 48 hours if no action was taken against the policemen. Some of them said they would vandalise the Millat police station, next time.

Talking to The Express Tribune, SSP Mekan said that he had ordered the police concerned to investigate the matter and register cases against those involved. He said those found guilty would be immediately arrested.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2014.