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"Workers not given flats despite payment’
KARACHI, Oct 2: Leaders of the National Trade Unions Federation (NTUF) on Wednesday accused Sindh Workers Welfare Board (SWWB) officials of
being involved in the grabbing of over 4,000 residential units constructed and allotted to workers through a ballot.
NTUF president Mohammad Rafiq Baloch and deputy general secretary Nasir Mansoor told a press conference at the Karachi Press Club that
labourers working in various factories had submitted their applications with the board in 2007 for allotment of 4,008 flats and in the balloting held five years later, in February 2012, the names of lucky ones were announced.
In the same month, the successful applicants paid Rs30,000 to the board, which collected a total of Rs120 million, they said. However, they added, they could not get possession of their flats.
Some 3,000 flats have been constructed near the Northern Bypass and 1,008 in Gulshan-i-Maymar.
The leaders claimed that the flats in Ghushan-i-Maymar had been grabbed by certain elements, alleging that senior SWWB officials, who had political connections, were ‘directly involved’ in the matter.
“The illegal occupants have been using these flats and also electricity and gas without paying any cost for the past two years. No one dares to cut off the power and gas connections,” said Mr Baloch.
The possession of the 3,000 flats near the Northern Bypass had also not been given to their owners so far on one pretext or another, the NTUF leaders claimed.
They said the board was still under the control of the federal government “in violation of the constitution”.
They also claimed that the board, which had Rs80 billion meant for Sindh under its thumb out of which it had released grants to other three provinces but Sindh’s share had not been released as yet.
The leaders regretted that 70 per cent of the country’s industrial units were in Sindh yet the province had not been given its due share since 2009.
The board’s policies had been affecting hundreds of thousands of the workers in Sindh as the deserving ones could not get the dowry grant
and the families of deceased workers posthumous benefits.
They demanded release of education funds for workers, registration of all workers with the Employees Old-age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and provision of better social security to every worker.
They also demanded setting up of a judicial commission to investigate alleged corruption in the EOBI and the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (Sessi).The labour leaders criticised the provincial government for according the least priority to labourers’ issues, which was evident from the fact that it had not yet appointed even a labour minister.
Labour rights: Trade unionists demand release of welfare board’s funds
KARACHI: Trade unionists demanded on Wednesday that the federal government should immediately release funds for the Sindh Workers Welfare Board – which had been closed down since 2009. They also asked for the devolution of different workers’ welfare boards to the respective provinces.
“After the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the worker welfare boards were to be transferred to the provinces, but they are still under the federal government’s domain, which is a violation of the Constitution,” said National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) Deputy General Secretary Nasir Mansoor. He was speaking at a press conference at the press club on Wednesday.
“The Workers Welfare Fund (WWF), which falls under the sphere of the federal government, holds Rs80 billion funds. It has confiscated the share of Sindh without any reason. Due to this, scholarships, dowry grants and other schemes for the workers of Sindh have been discontinued,” said Mansoor, adding that Sindh is generating 70 per cent of the funds for the WWF, but since 2009, the provincial government was not receiving its share, while the other provinces are regularly getting the funds.
Workers’ flats
The NTUF representative and other trade unionists demanded that 4,008 workers flats should immediately be handed over to the workers. “The workers submitted forms for the flats in 2007 and the draw was held in February 2012. Each worker deposited Rs30,000 for their flats, but the flats are in the possession of land grabbers,” he said, adding that the grabbers are using the flats and not paying gas and electricity bills – an expense which will ultimately fall on the workers.
These flats are located in Gulshan-e-Maymar and near Northern Bypass, he said, adding that high ranking officials of the labour department and the Sindh government are involved in the grabbing of the flats.
By Our CorrespondentPublished: October 3, 2013
* Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2013.
Karachi: ‘Labourers being denied possession of over 4,000 flats’
Karachi
Workers representatives alleged on Wednesday that despite collecting all sorts of funds and bribe as well as performing balloting the Sindh Workers Welfare Board (SWWB).was not handing over the possession of 4008 flats to the labourers.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, Deputy General Secretary of National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) Nasir Mansoor said that the SWWB had collected forms from the labourers in 2007 and balloting was held in February 25, 2012, in which 4008 flats were allotted to successful applicants. However, the possession of these flats was not being given to them as some influential elements under the umbrella of some politicians have occupied them illegally, he alleged.
According to him, Rs 30,000 were collected from each allottee in addition to Rs 40,000 bribe. The workers have already contributed a total of Rs120 million as fee and Rs160 million as bribe to the officials concerned to get these flats but they have not been handed over the possession as yet.
Of these flats, 3,000 are situated in Northern Bypass and the rest of 1,008 are located in Gulshan-e-Maymar. “No worker has been given the possession of the flats and further construction has been stopped, while favourites are being given possession of the said flats,” he said, adding that the illegal occupants who have been living there for two years have not paid any utility bill of electricity or gas although they have consumed the same up to the tune of Rs 40 million. Mansoor feared that these bills would also be recovered from the legal alottees in the coming days. He said that the representatives of labourers have been highlighting this issue before the Secretary Labour, the Chief Justice of Pakistan and other relevant departments but things remained unchanged.
Workers Welfare Board schemes stopped
The NTUF leader said that the Workers Welfare Board was still in the control of the federal government, which has over Rs 80 billion funds meant for the welfare of the workers but its share was not being provided to Sindh without any logic. These funds were supposed to be used for different schemes including dowry grant, death grant, scholarships etc.
“This is anti-Sindh policy of the federal government although other three federating units are being paid regularly on this count, which is a severe violation of the 18th Amendment under which Workers Welfare Board has become a provincial subject.,” he said.
“It is a dilemma that this board collects more than 70 per cent of the funds from the industrial zones of Sindh but the federal government is not releasing the funds to the province since 2009, which was badly hurting each and every scheme,” he added.
Mansoor said that hundreds of thousands of workers have been deprived of dowry grant and death granted for the past four years, adding, the SWWB officials used to present various excuses like that of NAB cases, corruption cases and others to stop these schemes, while the hiring of favorites was continuing at the board.
Similarly, he said, the labourers’ children have been deprived of scholarship, which was hampering their future education and job prospects although millions of rupees were being embezzled by higher officials and spent on luxuries.
Under this scheme the workers’ children were supposed to be provided with books, notebooks, uniforms, bags and shoes, he added.
EOBI also exploiting labourers
The NTUF leader said that the same situation persists at the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institute (EOBI) and Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI) when it comes to the welfare of the workers. He said that Rs 40 billion scam in EOBI has been unearthed by the Supreme Court and despite having more than Rs 3 trillion funds the EOBI was not providing any benefits to the workers.
“Most of the officials involved in corruption, including its chairman, are absconding to avoid facing charges in the court of law, besides millions of rupees are being embezzled from the SESSI hospitals by supplying fake medicines and producing bogus bills,” he alleged. He said that as per the government’s own sources no audit of these institutions has been made for the past 10 years. “It is good that minimum pension of any employee of the EOBI is Rs14,000 but a labourer’s pension is still not notified.”
Qadeer Tanoli, Thursday, October 03, 2013
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-205732-Labourers-being-denied-possession-of-over-4000-flats
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