The Punjab government has imposed a ban on brick kilns and steel mills. The ban stays till December 20.

Apparently, the move is meant to combat smog and the rising AQI (air quality index), but it has some serious financial implications, especially for the labour associated with brick kilns and the coal and steel industries. What’s more, owners of these mills are also to suffer.

According to the government notification, the districts in which kilns are going to remain closed for a month include Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Faisalabad, Chiniot, Okara, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Multan, Nankana Sahib, Narowal, Sargodha, Jhang, Vehari, Hafizabad, Pakpattan, Gujranwala and Sialkot. Consequently, 8,000 out of 11,000 kilns situated in 18 districts shall remain shut for the said period.

The Pakistan Bhatta Mazdoor Union (PBMU) has stated that almost half a million workforce is associated with these 11,000 kilns. This means that more than two-thirds of the labour is going to face crises in the days to come.

“The conditions are only going to get worse for the kiln workers who are already ranked among the poorest and weakest sections of labour,” says general secretary of PBMU, Muhammad Shabbir, while talking to TNS.

The closure of kilns is for a month only, but its impact is expected to last till the end of March. It is because the business of brick kilns is a seasonal affair, and the first quarter of the year is not good for the production of bricks because of cold weather and the small number of sunny days available.

Labour Education Foundation Director Khalid Mahmood says, “This quarter provides an opportunity to the kilns’ owners to exploit workers’ financial position and lay a debt trap for them.

“Because of the nature and condition of their work, brick kiln labourers are routinely called ‘modern-day slaves’.”

The kiln owners have an entirely different take on the issue. Secretary General, All Pakistan Kiln Owners’ Association, Mehar Abdul Haq is unhappy with the “hasty shut-down announcement” by the government.

“Till November 16, we were told by the Punjab government that the kilns would not be closed this year, in order to avoid unemployment. So, we bought coal and other essential materials required for production. Now, in a surprising move, the notification has been issued. This will cost us material losses as well as extra administrative expenditure.”

Administrative expenditure, Abdul Haq adds, is “the monthly baithky (minimum amount per month allocated for workers).” Additionally, the prices of clay and coal are expected to go up when the kilns reopen.”

Baitkhy, says Muhammad Shabbir, is “nothing but deception and another way of exploitation. Firstly, the amount offered to workers [as baithky] is ridiculous. Secondly, merely two percent of kiln owners offer it. As a result, the workers are pushed to the extent where they have no option but to fall into the debt trap for their survival.

“The owners call it peshgi (advance payment), but it is actually debt bondage.”

There is another class of workers that is tipped to share the financial crunch in the months to come — the coalmine workers. Since kilns with old technologies use 70 percent of the coal as fuel to produce bricks, the demand of coal for kilns would touch a new low during the kilns’ official closure period. Actually, this situation would remain so till the end of March.

Engineer and administrator at Wah Stones, Syed Shahid Hussain is of the view that closing the kilns will reduce coal production by 40 percent. “It’s a financial loss for investors, and a reason for possible unemployment. We have no option except to stop production and lay off employees.

“Usually, the last quarter of the year is considered peak season, and the first quarter is business-wise dead [for coal mining]. Therefore, the shutdown policy has become the main cause of unemployment.”

Hussain also speaks of the operational cost of mines “going up at the time of restarting operations, as we require more workforce and heavy machinery to reopen business.”

More than 130 steel mills situated in Lahore are also facing an official closure along with the brick kilns. These mills are closed because of not installing scrubber technology (equipment to control pollution). “Though 46 mills are operational, thousands of daily wagers have to bear the financial brunt of it, being unemployed for more than a month now,” says Iqbal Ahmed, owner of a steel mill.

Khalid Mahmood considers the shutdown policy as “anti labour rather than anti smog. Unfortunately, the government does not seem to have taken all stakeholders on board before formulating any policy. This could affect millions of workers.”

The implementation of the Social Security Policy can be a good way to provide financial assistance to labourers who are facing financial crunch. Though, it is the duty of the Punjab Labour Department, nothing is being done in this respect. “It is obvious that the anti smog policy shall have a reaction from the daily wagers and brick kilns workers,” he adds.

Presumably, the government is forced to take action against brick kilns not using the expensive ZigZag technology, and the steel mills that have yet to adopt the scrubber technology. But the business community associated with both industries is of the view that unorganised and hasty decisions taken by the government shall only create panic and frustration.

“The stakeholders must be taken on board. Secondly, the government must come up with a proper solution,” says Mehar Abdul Haq. “A new law in this regard is the need of the hour!”

The writer is a staff member and can be reached at warraichshehryar@gmail.com