Alleged sacking of mills workers in Takht Bhai triggers concern

TAKHT BHAI: Expressing concern over the ‘sacking’ of workers from a cotton mills, office-bearers of the unions asked Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to take notice of the situation.

Talking to reporters on Sunday, People’s Labour Union former president Sherzada Khan and Muttahida Mazdoor Union general secretary Adam Khan alleged that the management of the Rehman Cotton Mills had sacked the permanent workers under a conspiracy to hire them again on contractual and daily wages basis.

“Actually, the management is making lame excuse of having to pay heavy taxes.

In fact the workers were sacked and would be hired again on contractual and daily wages basis so as to avoid payment of huge amount to the workers as gratuity,” Sherzada Khan alleged.

The two trade union leaders said the labourers would be deprived of EOBI and Labour Welfare Fund if they were hired again on contractual and daily wage basis.

They alleged that the management of Rehman Cotton Mills had fired about 800 labourers before Eidul Azha without serving any notice, adding, further 400 to 450 workers had been sacked.

“Some of the workers were denied health services by the doctors in the Social Security Hospital last week. They were told they had been sacked from the mills and were not entitled to get medical services,” Adam Khan said.

When contacted, an official of the mills’ management said that most of the industrial units were confronted with a difficult situation across the country, adding, the products of the mills were not being sold at the market.

He claimed the management of the mills was struggling to pay the exorbitant electricity and gas tariff.

Regarding the closure of the Rehman Cotton Mills, he said the mills had not been padlocked as the labourers were still working there in three shifts. He admitted that some of the workers had been sent on leave with half-pay.

He said that the workers would be called back to work at the mills when the situation returned to normalcy.