Work woes: Kiln owners protest ‘fabricated’ cases

Kiln Owners’ Association presidentsaid his colleagues were being harassed by office bearers of the LQM

FAISALABAD:

Scores of kiln owners on Saturday staged a protest demonstration against what they called were false cases against their office bearers.

The protesters were holding banners and placards bearing slogans against the Labour Department, the district government and workers’ unions. They walked to Zila Council Chowk and staged a sit-in in front of the district government secretariat.

Talking to newsmen, Kiln Owners’ Association president Abdur Razzaq Bajwa said his colleagues were being harassed by office bearers of the Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM).

“They are constantly extorting money from the kiln owners, saying it is for workers’ welfare,” he said. “When we complained about the situation to the Labour Department and district administration, the LQM threatened to launch a series of protests.”

He said a meeting was called to resolve the problem.

“Kiln owners agreed to raise wages at the meeting but despite several assurances, they are being implicated in false cases by workers,” he said.

He said kiln owners would go on a strike if the matter was not resolved. He urged the DCO to take notice of the problem and withdraw cases against kiln owners.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2015.