Hazardous conditions: ‘There were no safety measures at factory where four workers died’

Report on the death of labourers <br /> submitted to the chief minister.

MULTAN: Vehari District Coordination Officer (DCO) Jawad Akram on Tuesday submitted his report of on the death of four labourers to the chief minister.

The investigation was supervised by the home secretary and MNA Hamza Shahbaz Sharif. The report said the four men, who died on July 6, had been hired late in June by a relative, who was a contractor for Viga Plastic Pipes, as daily wage workers in Lahore. Police said the men, of Mitro in sub-district Mailsi, fell sick last week and were referred to Nishtar Medical Hospital in Multan. They said three of them passed away on Sunday and the fourth died on Monday.

Doctors treating them said the men had apparently been exposed to toxic material.

The investigation report held the factory owner responsible for the incident. It said there were no safety measures at the factory to protect workers from toxic exposure.

The report also said autopsy of the men had not been conducted and the exact cause of death could not be determined. MNA Hamza Shahbaz Sharif has directed the police to take action against those responsible.

The men were identified as 18-year-old Muhammad Abid, 17-year-old Muhammad Imran, 20-year-old Muhammad Nawaz and 19-year-old Muhammad Naveed. Their relatives had protested outside the hospital on Sunday and urged the chief minister to take action against the factory owner.

Mailsi Assistant Commissioner Mian Riaz Hussain has announced that Rs500,000 compensation would be paid by the government and the factory owner each to the families of the men.

Mitroo Station House Officer Rana Naik Muhammad said some relatives of the men withdrew their complaint against the factory owner after the commissioner assured them that they would be paid compensation. He said they had alleged that two labourers, Mumtaz and Hasan from Jhang, who also worked at the same factory had died on Sunday. They claimed that another worker of the same factory was currently being treated Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital.  When contacted, the factory administration was unavailable for comments.

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