At least unregistered 360 bricks kiln have been functioning in Multan district, involved in openly violating labour laws and human rights, making innocent women and their children hostages for bonded labor in the guise of "loan recovery" but concerned agencies are making merely lip-service.
Brick kiln workers are the most deprived section of society and they earn a very low income and their whole family is involved in the work.
However, the government regulations about registration states that if there are 50 brick kiln workers working in any kiln, that brick kiln must be registered. Registration obliges the owner to pay workers, and fund medical and accident schemes. The owner is bound to build a school for children of the workers. The rate of the production of bricks is also subject to the regulation.
If a brick kiln owner does not get the kiln registered, the workers can apply to the labor department and the owner would be fined and the kiln would have to be registered.
Normally, the owner of a bricks kiln hire labor for his business on very cheapest rates of Rs 180 for making 1000 bricks which later sold on the fixed rates between Rs 2000 to Rs 2400 and the owner with big margin earned heavy profit. The owner release advance loan to labours just to bound them for forceful labour and the labour cannot afford to leave his owner for a life time period until death.
"Mumtaz Mai, the wife of a bricks kiln labour and her son Nadeem has been sold in Dera Ismail Khan in the name of loan recovery and we demand the government to recover Mumtaz Mai and her son other wise countrywide demonstrations would be staged", warned the All Pakistan Bricks Kiln Labour Union (APBKLU).
Speaking at a press conference, the APBKLU president Muhammad Hussein Khokhar on Sunday warned for countrywide strike against the government, concerned departments for promoting forceful labour and failing in giving safety shelter to their poor families.
He demanded that free education should be given to their children, government sponsored housing for the brick kiln workers, free medical checks should be provided every 3 months, and if any worker is sick they should be provided with free treatment brick kiln workers should be given Rs 300 instead of Rs 180 for making 1000 bricks.
The government must ensure that no bonded labour is allowed on any brick kiln, the brick kiln workers should be given Rs 30,000 for the marriages of their daughters. The brick kilns workers should be provided social security cards by the labour department. The participation of the brick kiln workers should be ensured in the monitoring committees made by the government and all brick kilns of Multan should be registered as soon as possible.