HARIPUR Dec 23: Lack of check and balance in departments supposed to check violations of labour laws, are root causes of exploitation by some unscrupulous businessmen. This was stated by Advocate Javed Iqbal Sheikh while addressing participants of a training workshop on labour and peasant councillors which was held here on Thursday.

The workshop was arranged by the Workers' Education Department, Haripur, and attended by male and female labour and peasant councillors of 12 union councils of the Haripur district.

Mr Ashiq Hussain, Director of Workers' Education Department, briefed the participants of the workshop about the purpose of the workshop and highlighted rights of workers and peasants. He said for protection of legal rights of workers and peasants, they needed to educate themselves about laws and protocols which dealt only with their problems.

Sheikh Javed spoke on the Idustrial Relations Ordinance 2002, Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment Ordinance 1968, Factory Act 1934, Payment of Wages Act 1936, Workman Commission Act 1932, Provincial Employees Social Security Ordinance 1965, Employees' Old Age Benefit Act 1976 and Worker Welfare Fund Ordinance, and pointed out certain flaws in these labour-related laws.

He said it was extremely unfortunate that despite the presence of a number of labour-friendly laws guaranteeing rights of a worker, the ground reality was that factory owners and millers violated these laws with impunity.

He accused the labour and social security departments of collaborating with the violators and exploiters. He criticized sub-contract system in factories of Hattar and other parts of the country, adding that factory owners had been hiring employees through fake companies which they themselves form and award contract to them the provide them cheap labour at an agreed amount.

This sub-contract system, he said, was playing havoc with the labour in the country as these sub-contractors or fake companies not only dole out extremely meagre wages to their employees with no medical, pension and other facilities but also force them to work more than 12 hours a day, thereby violating all national and international labour laws.

"These sub-contractors treat their workers in sub-human way, do not give them letters of appointments and deprive them of social security and other benefits, the workers' are entitled to," he added.

Haripur agriculture officer Naeem-ur-Rehman threw light on functions and duties of the agriculture department. The agriculture officer urged participants of the workshop to benefit themselves from the services of the Services Farm Centres and got themselves enlisted.

The Haripur agriculture officer said that these centres offered seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and other farm services to farmers on subsidized rates.

The participants of the workshop were also briefed on ways and means for generating their income resources through horticulture, sericulture and other methods. Malik Goher Rehman, President of the Anjuman Kaskhtkaran, Haripur, Union Nazim Malik Ali Asghar and Nazim Salim Khan also addressed the gathering.