Tag: (HBWWF)

Karachi, November 06, 2022 (PPI-OT):Youths of Karachi are now fed up with the growing lawlessness in the megacity and they would put a strong resistance if the authorities concerned failed to improve the law and order, said the speakers of a protest demo of youth against the street crime, organized by Alternate, a youth organization, in front of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) here Sunday. It was led by Alternate organizer Aqib Hussain and Shaima Baloch.

Aqib Hussain said that the provincial government has left the millions of Karachiites at the mercy of criminals and killers. He said powerful mafias have been targeting citizens’ life and property. He said roads and streets of Karachi have virtually became killing fields for the Karachiites. He said the law enforcement agencies being paid from the taxpayers’ money have became powerless before the criminals. He said the citizens are compelled to think that the criminals are being patronised by the law enforcers.

He said thousands of policemen are deputed in Karachi and for their assistance rangers have also been deployed here for decades, but despite this more than 6000 street crimes, murders of 365 citizens, snatching of 20000 mobile phones and 37000 motorcycles is a big question mark on the performance of these law enforcers. In some cases, innocent citizens were killed by vested interests due to negligence of police and administration. Its recent example is lynching of two young men in Machhar Colony and target killing of a youth in Manghopir area, he said.

Young YouTuber Sajid Afridi said that the doors of education and employment were closed for the youth, the powerful classes had overpowered the society, especially the youth, on the basis of beliefs, language and ethnicity. The state was imposing anti-democratic reactionary ideas on the society in a planned manner due to which fascist thought was being embedded in every sphere of life.

Labor leader Himmat Phulpoto said that in these worst economic and social conditions, armed street criminals were roaming around Karachi fearlessly and playing with the lives of citizens. This situation had made the citizens mentally ill.

Young garment worker and leader of Alternate, Iqbal, said the Karachiites are being deprived of the basic facilities of life. Education, healthcare and public transport have been commercialized. Half of the megacity is deprived of clean potable water. The KE has plunged the megacity into darkness. Due to lack of planning the megacity is being converted into ruins. Price hike and inflammation have made the life of poor masses miserable. In these circumstances, roaming of armed criminals freely in City Street was alarming.

Youth leader Barkat said if the State cannot provide security to the citizens in the largest city of the country, it shows that it has completely failed.

The demo participants demanded that the killers of citizens and their patrons should be immediately arrested and punished as per law. They asked compensation of Rs5 million each for every slain citizen.

They asked the government to get returned all snatched cars, bikes and mobile phones or their compensation.

They said an independent commission comprising respectable citizens should be formed to review the performance of law enforcers and forward recommendations regarding their future course of action.

They asked for better training of police and raising awareness amongst them for human rights.

They said citizens committees should be formed at police station level to help improving law and order.

They said the locals should be recruited in police and it should be linked to elected local government institutions. They asked to form a Public Safety Committee to improve liaison between them.

They demanded free education and healthcare and affordable public transport and potable water for the Karachiites.

They asked for nationalisation of the KE and giving it under the control of city government.

They asked to give employment to jobless youth and reinstate the forcibly sacked workers. They asked to develop parks and playgrounds to give healthy recreational facilities to the youth.

Those spoke included National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) general secretary Nasir Mansoor, SITE Labour Forum leader Riaz Abbasi, Progressive Writers Association joint secretary Comrade Sajjad Zaheer and Home Based Women Workers Federation HBWWF leaders Zehra Khan and Saira Feroze Khuhro, Qazi Khizar from HRCP, Saeed Baloch form PFF and others.

For more information, contact:
Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF)
726, Mashrique Centre, Block 14, Gulshan-e-Iqbal,
Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-37075324
Website: https://hbwwf.org/

Karachi, October 02, 2022 (PPI-OT):A large number of workers here Sunday staged a motorcycle rally against inflated bills and anti- consumer attitude of Karachi Electric (KE) and demanded immediate privatization of the power supply utility and booking its owners and management for their fraudulent practices.

As per details, National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and Muhban e Karachi staged a public protest during which a motorcycle rally was organised that started from Gulshan e Bihar Orangi and ended at KE Zonal office at Board Office Nazimabad. It was jointly led by NTUF central leader Aqib Hussain and chairman of Muhban e Karachi Hafiz Muhammad Arshad Rafique.

The rally participants carrying banners and placards chanted slogans against the KE and accused it of looting the electricity consumers of Karachi with both hands under the patronage of government. They said that the Karachiites should be saved from the KE terrorism. The KE should be immediately nationalized. It should end illegal inflated billing and return extorted money back to power consumers of the megacity.

Addressing the rally, NTUF general secretary Nasir Mansoor said that the KE has raised its tariff by 200 percent without any reason or rhyme. He said every new cruel taxes are being slapped over citizens under different pretexts. He said both the KE and government are hand in glove to loot the citizens through new taxes. He said the silence of elected representatives’ show that their vested interests are linked to the KE mafia.

He said the privatization of the KE is amongst the top most financial frauds of Pakistan. He said this century old public service utility was sold to the agents and hit men of a global privatization mafia for peanuts along with impunity to extort money from Karachi power consumers through fraudulent billing. He said this public service utility that was formed to facilitate citizens is now turned into a new East India Company for the Karachiites.

The labour leader said that the KE has installed new meters showing illegal and fraudulent inflated reading without getting checked them from creditable testing institution. He said bills are also being sent to the consumers without any meter checking. He said it is not possible for a labour having average income of Rs25000 to pay monthly electricity bill of Rs15000 and also meet his other expenses of life like food, education, health and transport.

NTUF Pakistan leader Aqib Hussain in his address said that the government has left the people of Karachi at the mercy of KE mafia. He said Karachi was the city of lights but the KE has made it a city of darkness. He said that due to prolonged power load shedding the perplexed citizens are becoming mental patients. He said despite prolonged interruptions in power supply heavy bills are being sent that has devastated the citizens financially. He said when a series economic crisis is brewing the inflated KE bills have made the life of citizens a living hell. He warned if the KE failed to mend its ways and continued its anti-megacity attitude the KE head office would be besieged.

Chairman Muhban e Karachi Social Organization Pakistan Hafiz Muhammad Arshad Rafique said that the K Electric in fact is a killer Electric. Many citizens have already been electrocuted due to its criminal negligence. Many consumers are thinking to commit suicide due to its unbearable electricity KE bills. He said this situation is no more tolerable for the Karachiites and they would now fight for their rights.

The rally demanded that the K-Electric should be immediately nationalized. Its corrupt administration should be tried in an open for tormenting the citizens of Karachi. All cruel taxes should be abolished. The Supreme Court of Pakistan should take a suo moto notice of the illegal billing of KE.

They demanded that a forensic audit of the KE meter should be got conducted by a third party. It should be known that who actually controls the KE. A report in this regard should be made public. All consumers using up to 100 units should be provided electricity free of cost while Rs8 per unit should be charged from the consumers using up to 500 units. Unannounced load shedding should be stopped in the megacity.

Other speakers included Qazi Khizr vice chairman Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Sindh chapter, Meraj Siddique head of the Organisation of Private Schools Management, Ali Muhammad Siddique Director Green Hand Welfare Organisation, Muhammad Suhail head of Ufaq Foundation, Mehnaj Shah founder Karachi Special Welfare, Asad Warsi president Hamara Azaam Insani Huqooq Foundation, social leaders Sada Bhai, Mehtab Alam, Sarfaraz Mumtaz, Muhammad Faizan, Muhammad Suhail, Sharif Baloch and Muhammad Saqib.

For more information, contact:
Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF)
726, Mashrique Centre, Block 14, Gulshan-e-Iqbal,
Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-37075324
Website: https://hbwwf.org/

Karachi, September 26, 2022 (PPI-OT):Speakers at the film screening event here on Sunday about the Baldia factory fire incident regretted that there is no respite in Pakistan in the exploitation of discount workers.

As per details, National Trade Union Federation NTUF and Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi screened a documentary entitled Discount Workers made by two German film makers Christopher Patz and Ammar Aziz. The documentary covered different aspects of the struggle of the affectees of Baldia factory fire incident from local courts to German court and other international forums.

He further said that through this documentary film the struggle of the Baldia families and workers is becoming known internationally. From Berlin to Calcutta, their powerful story is inspiring audiences to stand with them and demand respect and dignity for workers.

NTUF general secretary Nasir Mansoor said that a decade has already passed to the tragedy of Baldia factory fire but the overall condition of the Pakistani factories and workplaces is almost the same.

He said due to the struggle of workers a law about safety and health at workplaces has already been passed but its rules are yet to be formed to ensure its implementation. He also said that the international accord must extended to Pakistan in order to improve conditions in the factories.

Karamat Ali of PILER said that in 1911 a big fire occurred in a textile factory in New York but hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets and resultantly many laws were made to improve working conditions.

Zehra Khan of Home Based Women Workers Federation said that this documentary has helped raising awareness and German Parliament also made a law that German buyers would be responsible if working conditions are not proper in factories anywhere in the world that make goods for their brands.

Faisal Edhi of Edhi Foundation said that there are two nations: the rich and the poor. He said the poor should be united to safeguard their rights. Noted lawyer Faisal Siddiqui said that due to the struggle of the affectees of Baldia factory many milestones have already achieved.

He said Pakistani courts ensured payment of compensation to affected workers and their families within four years. He said steps taken by ILO and German Parliament are also of historic nature. Noted filmmaker Sabiha Soomar, Saeeda Khatoon of Baldia of Association of the Affectees of Balida Factory Fire and both German filmmaker also spoke. On the occasion, Chirstopher Patz presented a cheque on behalf of German comrades for Pakistani flood victims.

For more information, contact:
Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF)
726, Mashrique Centre, Block 14, Gulshan-e-Iqbal,
Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-37075324
Website: https://hbwwf.org/

Karachi, September 12, 2022 (PPI-OT):On the tenth anniversary of 260 workers martyred in Baldia factory fire incident, labour and trade union leaders demanded to implement International Accord in Pakistan to improve safety and health condition in factories and workplaces.

As per details, National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association and Home-based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) arranged a rally outside the Ali Enterprises Garment Factory that was attended by the heirs of martyrs, labours, political workers and representatives of human rights organisations. They displayed the pictures of the martyred workers and lit lamps in their memory.

Addressing on the occasion, NTUF general secretary Nasir Mansoor said that ten years have already passed to the Baldia factory fire incident but still factories and workplaces in Pakistan lacks health and safety measures. He said even today factories and workplaces are virtually killing fields for the hapless workers. He said that millions of workers belonging to textiles and garments sector are deprived of the basic labour rights like minimum wages, right to form trade unions, social security, pension.

He said local supplying factories of international brands are also involved in this crime. He said workers have become wage slaves. He said this situation in the backdrop of GSP Plus would bring negative consequences for Pakistani economy. He said the GSP Plus is going to expire by the end of new year and if anti-worker attitude was not changed the duty concession in the European markets would be withdrawn and about one million of Pakistani workers would become jobless. Its encouraging step that in Germany through legislation international companies make accountable for their misdeeds anywhere in world.

Sadia Khatoon, chairperson of Association of the Affectees of Baldia Factory Fire said that due to the greed of capitalists our innocent children lost their lives. She said greed is in the blood of capitalists be they are local or international. She said the number of workers dying in workplace mishaps is rising. She said that the heirs of Baldia factory fire victims are yet to be doled out justice. She said the German brand Kik till today has not apologized to the heirs of the victims. She said Saeed Ghani who is the son of a labour leader is Sindh labour minister but the heirs are not getting justice from his department.

HBWWF general secretary Zehra Khan said that Sindh Labour Department is doing nothing for implementing labour laws. She said till now rules of health and safety law have to be framed. She said women workers face sexual torture and harassment at workplaces and their voice is being gagged. She said officials of police and security agencies provide security only to factory owners. She said retired officers of security agencies are recruited by factory owners for harassment of their workers. She said contract labour system after private institutions is also being extended to governmental and workers’ welfare institutions.

She said due to flood more than fifty percent of cotton crop has been damaged that would soon create a crisis in textile industry rendering a large number of textile and garment workers jobless, also affecting the foreign exchange reserves of the country.

The moot demanded to fully implement International Accord in Pakistan to ensure health and safety of workers. She said all international fashion brands should ratify this Accord on the pattern of Bangladesh Accord. They demanded to fully implement health and safety law. They asked to decide the cases of the heirs of Baldia factory fire victims. The stopped pension to the parents of the victims should be released.

They asked to ensure provision of harassment free environment to female workers. Anti-harassment committees comprising women workers should be set up at plant level. Labour laws should be fully implemented. International Accord should be extended to Pakistan. All labour rights under GSP Plus should be fully implemented. Other speakers were Habibuddin Junaidi of Peoples Labour Bureau, Karamat Ali of PILER, Gul Rahman of Workers Rights Association, Saira Feroz of United HW Workers Union, Rafiq Baloch of National Trade Union Federation etc.

For more information, contact:
Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF)
726, Mashrique Centre, Block 14, Gulshan-e-Iqbal,
Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-37075324
Website: https://hbwwf.org/