‘Unfair dismissal’: 77 sacked workers to go to court against management

Manager of factory claims workers were terminated in compliance with labour laws.

HARIPUR:

Workers of a manufacturing unit of Hattar Industrial Estate have threatened to file a contempt of court suit against the management for violating court orders and allegedly terminating their contract.

Speaking to the media at the office of SAHARA Foundation on Wednesday, Sher Bahadur, the representative for the 77 factory workers who have been sacked, said the management had violated the orders of a labour court in Haripur.



In April, 56 factory workers who had served between four to 16 years, had approached the court against the management for infringing labour laws. The court passed a status quo order and urged the management to comply with its orders.

According to Bahadur, their petition sought to ensure that the management provides workers with all the benefits they are entitled to. “This includes the issuance of EOBI and social security cards, appointment letters, a monthly salary of Rs10,000 and freedom from unfair dismissals,” he said.

However, the management flouted court orders and initially terminated the services of 13 workers and laid off the rest of the workers on November 2, he claimed. “We protested outside the factory’s gates on Tuesday,” shared Bahadur.

While the next hearing for the case has been fixed for November 15, the sacked workers have decided to approach the court earlier and seek action against the management for contempt of court.

“The factory has over 1,200 workers,” said Bahadur. “The decision to lay off 77 workers reflects an attempt by the management to deprive workers [of their] legal rights.”

According to Bahadur, the workers will continue their protest after November 15 if they are not reinstated.

When approached for comments, the factory’s manager, Gul Mir Niazi, claimed the factory has decided not to renew the contract of over 53 workers as their services were not required anymore.

Speaking about the labour court’s orders, Niazi said at least eight workers had been terminated on the basis of age and in compliance with labour laws. “How could we continue to hire workers who are over 60 years old when labour laws do not permit us to do so,” he said.

According to Niazi, the management will continue to respect the orders of the court even though the workers had been terminated before the orders were issued. He blamed the sacked workers for deliberately obstructing the production process by protesting outside the factory’s gate.

Meanwhile, SAHARA Foundation Executive Director Qamar Hayat expressed solidarity with the factory workers. He pledged to support them in taking legal action against the management. Hayat insisted the factory had violated labour laws and should be taken to task.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2014.