PESHAWAR, May 1: Various labour organisations on Tuesday arranged rallies and seminars in connection with the International Labour Day in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to pay tribute to the struggle and sacrifices of Chicago workers for the labourers’ rights, asking the government to take steps for protection of the rights of skilled and unskilled labourers.

In Peshawar, speakers at a seminar in the press club called for unity among workers to snatch rights from capitalists, saying capitalism was a failed system.

National Party-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wahdat (NP-PW) arranged the seminar. Provincial president of NP-PW Mukhtar Bacha, Mutahidda Labour Federation (MLF) president Gul Rahman, Pakistan Wapda Electric Labour Union president Gohar Taj and others spoke on the occasion.

They said that politicians were least bothered about the rights of workers and the poor were getting poorer day by day. They said that labourers had been kept unaware of their rights, which were deliberately being usurped.

The speakers demanded Rs15,000 minimum salary, Rs1,000 pension and reopening of all closed factories in the country and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa besides compensation to children of labourers who were killed or affected in the wave of terrorism.

Pakistan Labour Federation (PLF), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, held a rally comprising Pakistan Railways employees, and raised slogans against capitalists. Provincial PLF president Aamir Hashmi said that daily-wage workers started the movement for their rights in 1880 from America, as they were forced to work for 16 hours and paid for eight hours only.

Also, the home-based female workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa demanded of the government to make legislation for ensuring their rights and sufficient wages.

During a protest rally, they female workers from Mardan, Nowshera and Peshawar districts criticised the government for not providing them legal status. Chairperson of home-based workers Aasia Bibi told reporters that the poor female workers were not able to properly feed their families due to rising inflation and low incomes.

The Pakistan Railways Employees Union, Peshawar, also held rallies for their rights. The rail workers also held a seminar which was addressed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz central general secretary Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and Hafiz Saeed Jafri.

Mr Jhagra assured the workers of his party’s support and asked them to join the anti-government movement announced by Mian Nawaz Sharif.

According to Dawn’s Charsadda correspondent Faiz Mohammad and Swat correspondent Khalilur Rehman, rallies were also held in these districts in connection with the labour day.

KARAK: Labourers and people from other walks of life attended a function held at Sabirabad under the aegis of United Labour Welfare Organisation on Tuesday.

On this occasion, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf leader Shamsur Rehman Khattak said that there collective efforts were needed to bring change in the lives of labourers through changing the system. He said that the country’s system was running due to the hard work of labourers. He regretted that labourers had been deprived of basic rights which reflected flaws in the system.

PPP leader Gul Sahib Khan said that discovery of oil and gas in Karak was the result of hard work of labourers and demanded protection of their rights. ULWO leader Zafar Iqbal Khattak demanded that services of all daily wagers working with oil and gas companies should be regularised.

GHALANAI: Speakers at a seminar here asked the government to protect the rights to skilled and unskilled labourers. The seminar was jointly organized by the Unicef and Human Resource Development Network.

Social Organisers Farooq Khan and Shakeel Khan spoke about difficulties faced by workers in Mohmand tribal region owing to presence of Afghan labourers who worked on low wages. They asked the parents to send their children to schools. They demanded of the government to set up industrial zones in Mohmand tribal region.

MINGORA: Swat Traders Federation, Swat Mutahidda Labor Union and other trade union bodies organised a joint rally, demanding increase in wages of labourers and ensuring their basic rights.