MUZAFFARGARH, April 21: As many as 700 workers, including women, of a textile mills staged a rally on Monday and kept Jhang Road blocked to protest non-payment of their three-month salary.

The protest was staged by workers independently and no union office-bearer tookpart in it.

The workers wearing black clothes and armbands raised slogans against the administration of Apollo Textile Mills alleging their three-month salary had been blocked, and it was impossible for them to feed their families given the present price hike.

They also accused union office-bearers of conniving with the administration and receiving bribe from them.

Samina, a worker, said she neither got her salary nor other dues including bonus. She said she approached senior officials of the administration and union leaders with her complaint but in vain. She alleged the mills officials harassed her instead of solving the problem.

Meanwhile, PPP MNA Jamshed Dasti and MPA Irshad Sial reached there and requested workers to end the road blockade. On their request, the workers ended the protest giving a three-day deadline to the mills management for release of their salary, otherwise they would stage a long-march on Islamabad for the acceptance of their demand.

The workers complained that the district government took no action against the administration for non-payment of their salary.

EDO (community development) Khair Mohammad Budh said he had asked mills administration to arrange about Rs30 million for payment of workers’ salary, and added if they failed to comply with the direction, an action would be taken against them under labour laws.Mills’ General Manager (admin) Col Amin Akhtar said he was trying to solve the problem, but hastened to add that accounts GM was responsible for payment of workers salary.