HYDERABAD, Nov 24: The OGDC Mazdoor Union, Sindh chapter, has accused the management and the CBA of massive corruption and management of hatching conspiracies against the government.

President Abdul Sattar Mari and General Secretary Abdul Hameed Soomro speaking at a press conference on Monday said that office-bearers and activists of Mazdoor Union always faced victimisation for raising their voice for the rights of Sindh workers.

They reminded the management to accept their charter of demands within 25 days failing which they would begin shutting down various oil and gas fields, phase-wise.

They demanded establishing a southern zonal office of the company in Hyderabad for maintaining record of workers right from the appointment up to the retirement along with resolving issues of the OGDC workers with zamindars. They further demanded setting up a medical centre to cater to the needs of workers and their families as 90 per of them were deprived of it.

They also called for acquiring land for residential colony for employees as was being done in Islamabad and reinstatement of services of those sacked in 1992 and regularisation of contractual employees.

They also sought initiation of an inquiry into misappropriation of over one-billion-rupees of the participatory profit fund and Rs50 million of Kashmir fund.

They desired recovery of Rs3 million deducted from the workers’ salary and given to the CBA and utilising the same for setting up an OGDC Foundation to run the company on commercial basis.

They said that the children of retired and expired employees should be appointed in the company on regular basis and contract system should be abolished.

Union leaders claimed that since 1992, employees of Sindh were deprived of their promotions and demanded the same according to their trade and grade with retrospective effect.

They said that remaining 17 bonuses should be given to employees and a high level committee should be appointed to implement these demands.

REINSTATEMENT OF SSIC WORKERS: Expressing solidarity with the employees of Sindh Small Industries Corporation, General Secretary of the Pakistan Workers Federation, interior Sindh region, Abdul Latif Nizamani demanded immediate reinstatement of sacked workers.

Speaking at the Federation’s meeting in the Labour Hall on Monday to discuss situation arising out of the dismissal of 12 employees, he felt dismayed over the insipid attitude of the concerned authorities over the 18-day-old strike unto death by the employees.

Nizamani, who is also Central President of the Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union, said that it was a real paradox that the government, on one hand had reinstated a large number of employees while on the other it was sacking the in-service workers.

He said that the bureaucracy was trying to bring a bad name to the peoples’ government. He demanded immediate reinstatement of sacked workers.