KASUR: The All-Pakistan Brick-Kiln Owners Association on Friday threatened to close down brick-kilns across Punjab if the government does not accept their demands till March 18.
“The brick-kiln owners will be constrained to stage a sit-in in Lahore on March 14 to get the government heard their voice and save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people linked with the kiln industry,” All-Pakistan Brick-Kiln Owners Association President Muhammad Shoaib Khan Niazi declared at a meeting of the executive council here on Friday.
Addressing a large number of brick-kiln owners at the meeting. Mr Niazi said that they have put forward their demands to the government during several meetings held to resolve the issue.
“We have presented our demands in writing with the sole aim to eliminate child labour and ensure reasonable wages to the workers,” he claimed, adding that law should be made by taking the ground realities into account which should be acceptable both for the kiln owners and labours.
In his speech, General Secretary Mehr Abdulul Haq said that the government policies are against humanity and “in this difficult situation we are with our labour community.” He said that if the government does not met their demands as early as possible, all the brick kilns would be closed across Punjab province.
Speaking to the audience Malik Wazir Ahmed Awan pointed out that the way the government behaved with the brick-kilns owners and made polices against them bore no parallel in the past. Haji Muhammad Islam also spoke at the meeting.–Staff Reporter