Korean company exploiting Lowari tunnel labourers: JUI leader

CHITRAL, Jan 27: The deputy chief of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (JUI) Chitral, Major (retired) Ahmed Saeed Qazi, has demanded of the government to take notice of the plight of labourers in the Lowari Tunnel project who are subjected to the worst kind of exploitation by the Korean construction company, Sambu. Talking to this correspondent here on Monday, he said during the past years four labourers died inside the tunnel in the absence of necessary safety measures to be taken by the company and many more lives were at risk. He said that the company was liable to follow the international law of companies, labor laws and cannot violate the human rights. But the Korean construction company does not care about the safety of the poor labourers. He said that Maqsood Ahmed of Ashrait village lost his life on January 16, 2014, inside the tunnel when the faulty drilling machine hit and smashed his head but the company offered his parents only Rs200,000 as compensation. The company’s official had brought a stamp paper with the money and wanted the deceased’s father to sign it pledging that he had no claim against the company and that he will not go to the court against the company, he said. The deceased labourer was 24 years old and was the sole bread earner of his family consisting of his old parents, a widow of 20 years and two kids of three years and four months, he said adding that his death was solely due to the faulty machine. He said that no safety measures have been taken as required in such mega projects where labourers passed twelve hours inside the 9 kms long tunnel without ventilation and faced the danger of falling boulders. “There is no job security to the poor labourers who were removed from the job when they ventured to talk about their rights”, Mr. Qazi said adding that due to the rampant unemployment, the youth had no option but to yield to their Korean masters. The JUI leader also complained that the routine working had been extended to 12 hours a day against the universal principle of 8 hours and it was pity that the labourers were not paid extra remuneration for the additional four hours. No leave rules the Koreans apply in the project for labourers, he said adding that the day Maqsood Khan died in the accident, was denied leave for a day for attending the wedding ceremony of his younger brother.–Zahiruddin]]>