Workers in the Rawat Industrial Area are facing severe financial difficulties. On the one hand, there’s a storm of inflation, and on the other, workers’ monthly salary is only 12,000 to 15,0000 PKR. The working time is more than 12 hours daily. The minimum wage is 32,000 PKR for a full-time involving 8 hours daily work.
While Rawalpindi’s Rawat Industrial Area is extremely close to the capital city Islamabad, the insensitive government and their officials seems far removed from the problems of this area. The minimum wage set by the government is hardly being given to any worker.
On the one hand, workers’ salaries are extremely low. On the other hand, they are deprived of all kinds of facilities, including the absence of social security, lack of transport, and even the unavailability of clean drinking water at the top of the list. Unhygienic toilets and substandard food are also significant problems. Despite numerous complaints about these issues, no action plan has been provided. The cost of three meals a day is beyond workers’ purchasing power.
Despite all these issues faced by workers, factory and business owners mint huge profits.
To address all issues, a meeting was held with workers, and the Rawat Industrial Area Action Committee (RIAAC) was established. A lot of workers participated fully in this meeting. In the meetings, it was resolved to strengthen the committee further and organize workers’ struggle to get their due rights.
PTUS supports establishing RIAAC and considers it a great step in the right direction. We will try to get an interview with the RIAAC leader.
