Cigarette company employees protest their sacking

PESHAWAR: The employees sacked by the Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited staged protest outside the Peshawar Press Club here Saturday to condemn the action.

The protesting workers raised slogans against the management and demanded that they should be reinstated. They termed their retrenchment as unjust.

The Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited had terminated the services of 141 of its employees from its Tobacco Purchasing and Leaf Operations departments primarily in Swabi and Charsadda. It claimed they were given generous compensation package.  The company had justified its action by arguing that the unprecedented rise in Pakistan’s illicit cigarette trade that has seriously impacted legal tobacco sales. It said this led to a decline in the company’s leaf and purchasing and processing operations.