Karachi:
As every year, the families of victims and work representatives met on September 11 to remember the 260 workers who perished in the fire of the Baldia factory. Due to the rainy season, the main commemorative event will take place on Sunday, September 28. At the meeting, the sails lit in memory of the martyrs and the participants promised to continue the fight for workers’ safety and against exploitation capital.
Hasna Khatoon, president of the Association of Factory Baldia fires, said the factory owners, with government approval, demolished the building to erase the living reminder of the tragedy. “But this horrible event, the darkest chapter in the industrial history of the region, cannot be erased from the memory of the workers. The blood of the martyrs will continue to inspire workers in their struggle for rights,” he said.
Comrade Zehra Khan, general secretary of the Women’s Workers Federation at home, said the so -called Sindh Labor Code was equivalent to a “suicidal attack” against labor rights. He accused the PPP government of dismantling the labor protections introduced by its own founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and trying to impose a hostile contractor based on workers. She promised strong resistance against what she described as an anti-laboratory conspiracy backed by ILO.
The meeting demanded that the German brand Kik apologize publicly with the victims, to ensure that its supplier factories in Pakistan comply with labor laws, and that a monument for the martyrs of Baldia is built. He also requested an awareness and safety awareness center on the Ali Enterprises site, the dissemination of the ILO insurance agreement to the associations and unions of the victims, and the formation of a supervision committee.
