SIALKOT, Dec 7: The soccer ball industry in the Sialkot district has fallen on the evil day thanks to the introduction of the machine-stitched stuff which has jeopardised the jobs of many an old hand and the inexperienced lot alike.

The affected people are apt to blame the government higher-ups who, on the other hand, are convinced that the technological advancement is imperative to enable the local industry to meet the global demands.

A survey conducted by Dawn revealed that the exporters had been fearing financial crunch and there was also a threat of unemployment to over 8,000 workers in Sialkot. The exporters, including the officials of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have frequently been meeting the government functionaries to put across their concern, but there is little hope of any official support as the International Labour Organisation is currently engaged in the child labour elimination programme.

According to the local exporters, the recent cancellation of orders placed by Nike, a USA-based sporting goods manufacturing company, had brought a wave of unrest among the local businessmen and workers a large number of who were facing threats of losing their jobs.

They protested that the US company’s move dealt a severe blow to the local exporters in the FIFA World Cup, besides tarnishing the image of the Pakistan’s industry. The company, they said, accused the Saga Sports Sialkot of promoting child labour by engaging children in the work at homes.

It was for the government departments concerned and the trader bodies, especially the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, to pull the industry out of crisis.

The company in an official statement it issued to the media on Nov 20 last said its investigation had uncovered “serious allegations by trade union representatives and other Saga Sports Sialkot employees of worker harassment, wrongful termination and inaccurate payment of wages.”

It revealed that similar violations were found in an unannounced audit of the Saga sports by the Fair Labour Association, a USA-based coalition of industry, labour consumer and human rights groups.

Meanwhile, the labourers engaged in hand-stitched soccer ball manufacturing have expressed grave concern over the situation, saying they had already been working under daunting conditions.

Punjab Industries Minister Muhammad Ajmal Cheema, in the meantime, has pledged to make all-out efforts to pull the industry out of crisis.

Speaking to the participants at the award-distribution ceremony of CPC Testing Labs the other day, he said the government was alive to the situation and was making efforts to save the local exporters from embarrassment and financial crisis.

He urged the exporters to improve the quality of their products to lure the foreign customers, besides strictly complying with social, environmental and labour standards.