Labour community rejects budget

Islamabad : The National Labour Federation (NLF) on behalf of the labour community on Wednesday altogether rejected the federal budget for the year 2020-2021.

“We categorically reject both the budget and those who presented the budget as it contains no relief for workers and the labour community,” the NLF President Shamsur Rehman Swati while addressing a press conference here said.

The NLF Punjab President Raja Ashiq Khan, central vice president PTCL CBA Union Waheed Haider Shah, Dr. Tahzeebul Hasan and others were also present on the occasion.

The NLF President said the government did not accept their demand of fixing minimum wages of workers at Rs30,000 and EOBI pension at Rs15,000.

He threatened the government that they would be compelled to give countrywide protest call if their demands are accepted in the budget to be approved by the Parliament.

He said they were avoiding protest demonstration as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 but they also could not see workers and their families suffer from unemployment, starvation and poverty.

He demanded of the Government to order restoration of all the workers who were rendered jobless following spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that as per statistics, there were only 2.2 million out of 70 million registered workers but the Government failed to provide relief to them who are backbone of country’s economy. “We have also demanded of the Government to merge all the allowances in salary after 50 percent increase but our this demand was also not fulfilled,” he said.

Shamsur Rehman Swati regretted the rulers instead of having a plight of the labour community were just doing a lip service whereas the workers were being sacked from jobs and others were not being paid their salaries.