Karachi:
As every year, families of victims and labor representatives gathered on September 11 to remember the 260 workers who died in the fire of the Baldia factory. Due to the rainy season, the main commemorative event will take place on Sunday, September 28. During the meeting, the candles were informed in memory of martyrs and participants undertook to continue the fight for the safety of workers and against the exploiting capital.
Hasna Khatoon, president of the Baldia Factory Fire Associates Association, said that the factory owners, with government approval, demolished the building to erase the living recall of the tragedy. “But this horrible event – the darkest chapter in the industrial history of the region – cannot be deleted from the memory of workers. The blood of martyrs will continue to inspire workers in their fight for rights,” she said.
Comrade Zehra Khan, secretary general of the Federation of Women’s Workers at home, said that the so-called Sindh’s Labor Code was a “suicidal attack” against labor rights. She accused the Government of the PPP of dismantling the work protections introduced by its own founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and of trying to impose a system based on entrepreneurs hostile to workers. She swore a strong resistance against what she described as an anti-elaboration of the ILO.
The rally demanded that the German brand Kik apologizes publicly with the victims, ensures that its supplier factories in Pakistan comply with the laws of labor and that a memorial is built for the Martyrs of Baldia. He also called for a health and safety awareness center on the Ali Enterprises site, the disclosure of the ILO insurance contract to victims’ associations and unions, and the formation of a supervisory committee.
