Workers demand 30% raise

LAHORE:General Secretary of the All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions (APFTU), Khurshid Ahmad, urged federal and provincial governments to ensure a 30 percent increase in wages for workers in public and private sectors, including media houses, to match inflation. At a press conference held at Bakhtiar Labour Hall, he demanded a raise in pensions, setting the minimum wage for semi-skilled workers at Rs50,000 and EOBI pensions at Rs40,000. He also called for improved workplace safety, a halt to privatisation of profitable public enterprises, swift construction of hydel dams, and promotion of technical education and home-based industries.