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Hundreds of sanitation workers and rickshaw drivers took to the streets in Faisalabad, protesting the non-payment of wages for nearly two months under an outsourcing system linked to the Suthra Punjab Authority, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to The Express Tribune, the demonstrators marched from District Council Chowk to the Deputy Commissioner's Office, led by Baba Latif Ansari, who heads the Pakistan Labour National Movement and also serves as President of the Huqoq Khalq Party Punjab. Addressing the gathering, Ansari accused authorities and contractors of violating labour agreements and neglecting workers' rights. He alleged that under contracts with the Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC), the outsourced Care Services Company was required to ensure workers' registration with Social Security and the Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI). However, according to Ansari, only partial registrations were completed, and Social Security contributions had not been deposited for the past six months, an estimated Rs 65 million shortfall. He further claimed that EOBI payments were entirely neglected, depriving nearly 1,200 sanitation workers of essential benefits, including pensions and medical care. "Workers are staging a protest to demand their rightful salaries and pending dues," he said. The protest caused major disruption outside the Deputy Commissioner's Office, with long queues of rickshaws blocking both sides of the road. In a dramatic show of frustration, protesters also dumped truckloads of rubbish at the main gate, symbolising what they described as systemic mismanagement and official apathy, as cited by The Express Tribune. Following talks with Suthra Punjab Authority Managing Director Abid Hussain Bhatti and Assistant Commissioner City Adil Umer, officials issued a show-cause notice to the outsourcing company. Authorities also directed the immediate release of pending payments for rickshaw drivers and expedited processing of sanitation workers' salaries. Despite the assurances, Bhatti maintained that FWMC bore no direct responsibility, stating that the workers were employed through third-party contractors, as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)
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