Sacked factory workers continue hunger strike for 5th day

HARIPUR: Sacked workers of a cement factory in Hattar continued the hunger-strike for the fifth consecutive day here on Monday.The condition of three of the workers worsened and they were removed to Trauma Center, Haripur.

They were provided medical assistance before they again joined the hunger strike camp,

police and hospital sources said.Muhammad Faisal, one of the sacked workers, said that the administration of the cement factory had terminated the services of more than 100 workers about 18 months ago.

Nine of the sacked workers sued the factory administration in the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC), Islamabad and succeeded in obtaining a reinstatement order with all the benefits last week.

But the factory administration, according to Faisal, refused to reinstate them, due to which the nine workers went on a hunger strike on Thursday and continued their strike for the

fifth consecutive day on Monday.

Three of the protesting workers were shifted to the hospital when their collapsed during the hunger strike and were provided with medical assistance.

Local political leaders including Raja Shahab Sikandar, Chairman of the DDAC and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Arshad Ayub Khan, former PML-N MNA Babar Nawaz Khan, former QWP MPA Gohar Nawaz Khan, labour leaders Qamar Hayat, Tahir Amin, and others

visited the hunger-strike camp and expressed their solidarity with the protesting workers.When approached, the general manager of the cement factory Sahab Khan said that his legal team had filed an appeal before the full bench of NIRC against the NIRC’s order of restoration of workers issued by a single bench.

He said the factory has the legal right to file an appeal against the Commission’s previous order within 30 days.

He, however, said that the factory administration was bound to obey orders of the NIRC whatsoever in the future and the reason behind not reinstating the nine workers was exercising the right to file an appeal, he said.