May Day in KP, FATA observed with pledge to protect rights of working class

Like other parts of the country, the Labour Day was observed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA with full enthusiasm on Tuesday where labourers paid tribute to the martyrs of Chicago and vowed to protect rights of working class through enhanced working relationships for achievement of desired objectives. The day dawned with special prayers in mosque for progress and prosperity of Pakistan, liberation of occupied Muslims territories, martyrs and well being of labour community. Different labour unions and organization have organized special programmes and taken out rallies to highlight the significance of the day. In this connection, Pakistan Workers Federation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter has also organized a special programme that was addressed by PML-Q President Senator Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as chief guest here at Nishtar Hall. Speaking on the occasion, he said that May Day reminds us the supreme sacrifices of the Martyrs of Chicago, who sacrificed their lives for fundamental rights of their fellow workers. He said the government has taken a number of steps for the benefits of the workers and their families through the Ministry of Human Resources Development including setting up of the Shahara Insurance Company, which is providing group insurance facilities to the overseas Pakistanis. Shujat Hussain announced to give one month basic salary to all EOBI employees on the basis of their performance. On behalf of the Federal Minister for Human Resource Development, Ch Shujat Hussain announced an increase of 20 percent in the pension of more than 300,000 pensioners of the EOBI, free insurance and other monetary benefits retrospectively from January 2012. He also assured full cooperation in construction of Labour Hall in Peshawar. In his message, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has appealed to the labourers and the entrepreneurs to be more conscious towards ensuring best utilization of the available resources as well as maintain unity and amicable working relationships in making the output of the work of the working class and the investments of the desired standards. Likewise, Pakistan Workers Federation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter, Peoples Labour Forum, Rickshaws Association, Pakistan Railways Workers Union, different trade organizations and unions took out peaceful labour rallies and demanded better social security and wages for workers, restoration of labour laws, and end to privatization. The rally taken out from different areas of the City gathered at Press Club and chanted slogans in favour of their demands and expressed solidarity with Chicago victims. The speakers said that like all over the world, labours and working class are united in Pakistan for their rights. They called on the government to take further steps for implementation of labours laws and to solve problems of daily-wages workers. They also demanded to increase minimum salary level of workers according to inflation. The speakers also appreciated Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani's announcement for an increase in minimum wages of labourers to Rs 8000 and 20 percent increase in their pension. They said PPP Government had restored thousands of workers on their jobs and regularized thousands of workers of different national building departments, while it also fixed job quota for disabled in various departments besides increasing minimum wages to Rs.8000 that was highly praised worthy. Speakers at seminar said capitalism has failed as compared to socialism, they urged the labors and workers to get united to snatch their rights from the capitalists. Speaking at a seminar titled “Blood of Chicago laborers in 1886 will bring fruits” in connection with World Labor Day, arranged by National Party-Pakhtunkhwa Wahdat (NP-PW) here at press club on Tuesday, they said unless the failed system of capitalism was ended, lives of the labourers will never become better. Those spoke on the occasion including Mukhtar Bacha, provincial president of NP-PW, Nazeef Khan General Secretary, information secretary Idrees Kamal, Gul Rahman president Muttahida Labour Federation (MLF) and vice president of the party, Gohar Taj president Pakistan Wapda Electric Centre Labor Union, Ahsan and Hashim Raza Advocate. Paying rich tribute to the Chicago labors, they said dictators had been occupying the reign of the country while politicians were least bothered about the rights of the workers. They said though Pakistan is like a paradise bestowed with natural resources yet unfortunately the poor becoming the poorest while the rich accumulating wealth with their both hands and becoming richer day by day. The labors, they said had been kept unaware about their rights, which were deliberately being usurped but those who raised voice for the rights were forced to gage. “Military dictators are the main hurdles in improvement of the workers,” they claimed. Later, the speakers demanded that minimum salaries should be raised to 1,5000 rupees, pension should be raised 1,000, reopen all the closed factories in the country and the province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be declared industrial zone, compensation must be paid to the children of those laborers who were killed in a wave of terrorism.