Making their demands: Unions rally for their rights on Labour Day

Union leaders say the Rs9,000 minimum monthly wage for unskilled labour is rarely implemented in Karachi.

KARACHI:

Workers of the Pakistan Railways Karachi Division asked the government to stop the privatisation of trains and retract those that have already been privatised.

The Railway Mazdoor Union leaders and members held a rally from the Cantonment Station to the Karachi Press Club on Thursday to observe International Labour Day. “The government should fix a labour’s monthly wages equal to the price of 12 grammes of gold,” said union president Muqadar Zaman.

The Pakistan International Airline union leader Sheikh Majeed, also present at the rally, said that the condition of labourers is worsening in the country. “Due to uncontrolled inflation, the labourers of the country are struggling to make ends meet,” said Majeed, who added that the Rs9,000 minimum monthly wage for unskilled labour fixed by the Sindh government is not paid in the majority of Karachi’s factories.

The National Trade Union Federation also held a rally at the Labour Square in SITE.

“Due to the violation of laws, workplaces have turned into prisons and more than 60 million workers are being deprived of their fundamental right of making unions,” he said. “They have no social security, no appointment letters and national and international bodies, as well as political parties, are criminally silent over the issue.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2014.