Brick kiln workers on Saturday said they would stage mass protests in the province from December 12 if their wages were not raised.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Bhatta Mazdoor Labour Union leader Baba Abdul Lateef Ansari said the brick kiln owners were exploiting the workers by not giving them their legal rights.
“The government has passed labour laws but they have not been enforced…We have requested the law enforcement agencies as well as the government to enforce the laws.”
Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM) central secretary general Aslam Meraj said fair wages were a legal right.
He said all workers should be paid fair wages, have health insurance, and get death grants, marriage grants and educational facilities.
“None of this is being done. The kiln workers have no choice but to press their demands by staging protest rallies.” Meraj said the LQM would stand by kiln workers. “We will take further steps if the government ignores our peaceful protest,” he added.
Muhammad Nadeem, another Bhatta Mazdoor Labour Union leader, said the government had initiated an extension programme for laboureres but labour laws had not yet been enforced. “Many labourers are living in terrible conditions… their families are forced to work long hours,” he said.
He said the children of kiln workers were not allowed to attend schools. “They [workers] also do not have access to doctors, clean water, and bathrooms.”
District Labour Officer Dr Javed Iqbal told The Express Tribune that the Labour Department had called the kiln owners and workers’ representatives on Monday to resolve the matter.
He said the government was working to enforce the laws. “We have prosecuted 672 brick kiln owners on charge of violating labour laws… we have registered 380 kilns and our teams are working to register the rest,” he said.
Iqbal said the provincial government had also initiated a programme with help from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to improve the working conditions of labourers.
He said the programme would improve the working conditions of brick kiln workers through provision of basic amenities.
“The government is committed to eliminating bonded labour…Rs120 million has been released in four districts in the Punjab for the welfare of kiln workers and their families.”
The district labour officer said 200 informal education centres had been established for the children of brick kiln workers in Faisalabad, Sargodha, Bahawalpur and Gujrat districts. He said 40 literacy centres would be set up to educate the adults.
“These centres will cater to as many as 6,000 children… computerised national identity cards and health faculties will also be extended to workers and their families,” he said.
He praised the ILO for its help to rid the society of bonded labour.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2013.