On the morning of Monday, 22 April, police attacked the protest camp of Unilever workers outside the factory gate in Rahim Yar Khan. Nine were arrested and tortured. They had been protesting for their reinstatement for the last nine days, a struggle that has been ongoing for the past few years.
More than 1600 workers had been working in Unilever Rahim Yar on contract basis for the last few years. These workers were working on very low wages in horrible conditions without any transport facilities, residence, over time, bonus or gratuity allowances. In order to organize and fight for their rights they registered a trade union, the Inqilabi Workers’ Union, in 2010. When they approached management through their union and put forward their demands, they were insulted and the management started victimizing them. They were told that they were not employees of Unilever and that the contractor and the company were not bound to fulfil their demands. After that, the behaviour of management towards contract workers got even worse and they were even denied safety shoes and uniforms, and substandard meals were served to them separately from the permanent workers.
In order to make their voice heard, the contract workers organized a sit in at the factory gate on October 26, 2011. In response management fired 767 contract workers, but was forced to reinstate 455 of them as the protests and agitation by the workers grew. The remaining 307 workers have not been reinstated to this date.
About two weeks ago the workers set up a peaceful protest camp in front of the factory demanding the reinstatement of the remaining workers. In the morning of April 22, police attacked the camp and destroyed it while arresting nine workers. Workers were also beaten and tortured brutally. This crackdown was ordered by District Police Officer Suhail Habib Tajik who is on the payroll of Unilever management. The Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign has stood by the Unilever workers from the very first day of their struggle. After the incident, the PTUDC has launched a countrywide protest campaign against the brutal state oppression. On Tuesday, 23 April, protests were held in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Daska, Rahim Yar Khan and many other cities.
The PTUDC demands:
· Sacked contract workers to be reinstated and given jobs at Unilever on a permanent basis with all the allowances and facilities.
· An inquiry should be launched and the police officers responsible for the incident should be arrested.
The PTUDC also appeals to other trade unions, workers’ organizations, students and political activists to send condemnation messages to the following addresses:
Unilever Rahim Yar Khan
Phone: + 92 (0) 68 5574912
+ 92 (0) 68 5574906
Fax: + 92 (0) 68 5577516
Sohail Habib Tajik (District Police Office Rahim Yar Khan)
Phone: + 92 (0) 68 9230301
Fax: + 92 (0) 68 9230305
E-mail: dpo_ryk@yahoo.com
City Police station C Division Rahim Yar Khan
Phone: + 92 (0) 68 9230286
Najam Sethi (Interim Chief Minister Punjab)
Chief Minister Secretariat,
7 Club Road,
GOR-I, Lahore.
Phone: + 92 (0) 42 -99204906 to 14
+ 92 (0) 42 99203222 to 3
Fax: + 92 (0) 4299204915
+ 92 (0) 42 99203224