Agitating dock workers get five months’ salaries

Published January 12, 2019
The workers have also been asked to fulfil certain recruitment requirements by their Chinese employer.— AFP/File
The workers have also been asked to fulfil certain recruitment requirements by their Chinese employer.— AFP/File

KARACHI: On the 109th day of their sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club and following a protest rally they had staged a day earlier, the 1,751 dock workers of Port Qasim Authority were paid their long overdue salaries on Friday.

It was a sigh of relief for the workers, who were paid five months’ salaries, from July 18 to November 18, through two cheques of a total amount of Rs20.547 million after a meeting between representatives of Huaneng Fuyun Port and Shipping (HFPS), which handles berths three and four at Port Qasim, and representatives of the workers, social workers, human rights activists and trade unionists.

The cheques were handed over by Chen Long, executive director of the HFPS, to Hussain Badshah, the secretary general of the Workers Union of Port Qasim. Nasir Mansoor of the National Trade Union Federation, as the convener of the Workers Action Committee for Dock Workers, was also present.

He and Karamat Ali of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research congratulated the workers for successfully holding their ground by carrying a peaceful protest for so long and for finally seeing their demands met by their employers. “We are extremely happy for the poor dock workers and their families,” Karamat Ali told Dawn.

The workers are now to be paid only their December salaries and they have also been asked to fulfil certain recruitment requirements by their Chinese employers in the contracts offered to them.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2019

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram atrocity
Updated 22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram.
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

PAKISTAN has now registered 50 polio cases this year. We all saw it coming and yet there was nothing we could do to...
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...
Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...