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Rallies, workshops, seminars held in KP to mark Labour Day

By Bureau report
May 02, 2018

PESHAWAR: Rallies, workshops, seminars and other events were organised in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas to mark the International Labour Day and demand rights for the working class.

Various civil society organisations and labour unions took out rallies in parts of Peshawar to observe the May Day.

The workers of a private company Al Hafiz Crystoplast Private Limited staged a protest against the non-payment of salaries withheld for the last two years.

They were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the non-payment of salaries and in favour of their demands.

The protesting workers gathered outside the Peshawar Press Club to stage the protest.

They were also demanding Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar to take notice of non-payment of salaries to them due to which their families were facing hardships.

Speaking at an event in connection with May Day at the Peshawar Press Club, Awami National Party (ANP) provincial information secretary Haroon Bilour said that his party would amend the labour laws if voted to power in the upcoming general election.

He said the incumbent federal and provincial governments exploited the rights of working class. The Pakistan Railways Employees Union (Prim),

Peshawar chapter, had organised the event to mark the May Day.

Haroon Bilour said that the labourers were playing a key role in the country’s development but lamented that successive governments’ ignored the plight of this class.

Other speakers said that no change can be brought in the lives of working class until the capitalists and landlords dominated the policies and calling shots in the country.

They said that rulers were playing politics over the issues and problems were being faced by the working class, adding the problems of the working class remained unsolved.

They said the labourers would have to get united and struggle collectively for rights like the labourers did in Chicago in the US.

The members of the various labourers organisations also took out rally from Firdaus Bazaar to Bacha Khan Chowk to mark the workers day.

The members of Public Works Department (PWD) Union Communication and Works (C&W) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) and Rairi Ban (hand cart) Labour Union participated in the rally.

The workers of the Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union staged a rally on the Grand Trunk Road.

The speakers said neither the federal nor the provincial government did anything tangible for the working class.

They demanded increase in the salaries and wages of labourers according to the sky rocketing inflation in the country.

TIMERGARA: The Pakistan People’s Party held a rally here in connection with the May Day and expressed solidarity with peasants and workers.

The PPP workers and their leaders, including former provincial minister Mehmood Zeb Khan, former MPA Muhammad Zamin, district secretary information advocate Alam Zeb and trade unions’ representatives walked on the road and gathered in front of the local press club.

Speaking on the occasion, the PPP leaders paid rich tributes to labourers who had sacrificed their lives at Chicago for rights of workers worldwide.

They said had the labourers not sacrificed lives at Chicago, their rights would have been exploited today.

KARAK: The United Workers Welfare Association, Karak chapter, marked the May Day with traditional zeal and enthusiasm and held a rally in Sabirabad Bazaar to show solidarity with the workers across the world.

They held a ceremony to remember the sacrifices of the workers of Chicago and workers and people of all walks of life attended the ceremony.

TAKHT BHAI: Speaking at a function regarding International Labour Day, Muttahidda Labour Federation provincial president Muhammad Iqbal Khan said that the government had ignored industrial labours in the recent fiscal budget.

He said that minimum wage of the labourers should be fixed Rs25,000 while the government should also increase pensions through Employees Old Age Benefit Institutions (EOBI).

Muhammad Tariq Khan, Dr Miss Talat, Said Qazi Naeem Qureshi, Wali Haider, Faqir Hussain Lala, Wali Muhammad Khan Lala, Zainul Abidin, Muhammad Nabi and Muslim Khan also spoke on the occasion.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Like other parts of the country, May Day was also marked to pay rich tributes to the labourers who were killed in Chicago.

In connection with the Labour Day, rallies were taken out in various areas in the city. Seminars, functions and conferences were held were also held to show solidarity with the Labourers

Malik Farhan Dhap, Muhammad Ayub alias Lal Badshah, Hanif Pepa, Riasat Lughari, Chaudhary Shafiq, Chaudhary Asif Ali and Qaisar Katikhel addressed the rallies.