LAHORE: The workers staged demonstrations in major cities of Punjab on Sunday to press the government for establishing an independent institution in consultation with stakeholders to ensure safety of labourers at their workplaces.

Under the banner of Pakistan Trade Union and Defence Campaign (PTUDC), the workers also took out rallies in Multan and Rahim Yar Khan to protest the killing of 46 workers in a factory roof collapse in the Sunder Industrial Estate of Lahore.

They also demanded that Rs3 million each should be paid to heirs of labourers killed in the incident.

They said since the labourers lost their lives due to the negligence of the provincial government, a murder case should be registered against the chief minister, the labour minister and authorities of the Punjab Industrial Estate Development and Management Company.

They said that action should also be taken against government departments concerned for their failure to check if the factory was being constructed in accordance with the approved plan and with standard material.

In Lahore, PTUDC’s Adam Paul said it seemed the government had not learnt any lesson from such incidents in the past which was tantamount to abetment with exploitative forces.

“The cruel capitalists never bother about the lives of poor labourers but the indifferent attitude of the government towards the matter is more deplorable,” he said while addressing a good number of protestors outside the Lahore Press Club.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2015

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