Hyderabad, November 30, 2018 (PPI-OT): Hundreds of thousands of sugarcane growers are facing starvation as the mighty sugar millers of Sindh province have not yet opened crushing season in their mills and the provincial government instead of protecting the rights of growers is patronizing the sugar miller mafia, said speakers of a protest demo here on Thursday.
According to details, Sindh Agriculture General Workers Union (CBA) and National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) staged a protest demo here to raise demands of Haris and growers, led by Hari leader Sabhagi Bheel. They later announced to establish a three-day protest camp before the Hyderabad Press Club (HPC) till December 2, 2018.
The speakers said that on one hand the crushing season of sugarcane is delayed and growers are not being given proper rates, and on the other hand artificial water shortage has dealt a severe blow to agriculture sector of Sindh. They said we demand that the procurement rate of sugarcane should be fixed at Rs250 per Maund and it should be strictly implemented. The crushing season should be immediately started. The artificial shortage of water in Sindh should be ended and a mechanism should be formed to set rates of all agriculture produces including wheat and sugarcane and representatives of Haris should be included in this process.
The speakers regretted that in Sindh Haris and growers are left on the mercy of millers and market mafia. They said the ripe crop of sugarcane is being dried up but the millers are not starting crushing season, and no proper rates are also being offered to the growers. They said every year this crisis is slapped on sugarcane growers. He said the Sindh government is reluctant to take steps to avoid this crisis faced by growers every year.
They said not only the rates of sugarcane, but also the rates of wheat, paddy, vegetables and other crops are set by the market mafia at their sweet will. They said the Haris and growers are compelled to buy pesticides, seeds and fertilizers on the rates set by the market forces. Mostly, these products are substandard but there is no one to stop this malpractice. They warned if this dismal situation continued the Haris of Sindh would be compelled to commit suicides like the Haris of India.
They said to further aggravate the situation, an artificial shortage of water has been slapped on the province of Sindh for a long time. They said water is available only to big feudal lords and powerful and influential Waderas. They make water-courses of their own choice and take away the water share of small growers.
They said in this backdrop more dams on the River Indus would further increase water shortage. They feared that more dams would result in a permanent drought in Sindh, where the saline water has already been eroding coastal areas. They said new water projects on the River Indus would not be accepted and a tough resistance would be offered to them.
The speakers said that five years have already passed of enacting the Sindh Industrial Relations Act 2013 (SIRA 2013) but its rules are yet to be made; hence this Act is not being implemented in this province. They said due to lack of rules hundreds of thousands of agricultural workers are deprived of their rights to make their trade unions and elects CBA, registration in institutions of social security and pension like EOBI and get grants and other facilities, which are their legal and constitutional right. They said like the industrial labours, agricultural workers are facing grave threats due to lack of health and safety measures. They also do not get safety and training at workplaces, besides healthcare and medical facilities.
They said all political and religious parties have ignored the rights of industrial labours and Haris. These political parties, irrespective of they are in government or opposition, are not including the issues of workers in their agendas. Its glaring proof is the dismal treatment meted out to the Haris, like their maltreatment in the Dark Age. Sadly, no one is raising voice or taking steps against this malpractice.
They demanded that the procurement rate of sugarcane should be fixed at Rs250 per Maund and it should be strictly implemented. The crushing season should be immediately started. They said that artificial shortage of water in Sindh should be ended and a justified distribution of water should be ensured. They demanded that rules should be formed for implementation of the SIRA 2013, and like labor court, Hari courts should be opened in all districts of Sindh province. They asked that a mechanism should be formed to set rates of all agriculture produces including wheat and sugarcane and representatives of Haris should be included in this process.
Those spoke included Sindh Agriculture General Workers Union (CBA) President Ali Ahmed Panhwar, vice president Sabhagi Bheel, general secretary Lal Bux Lallan Sathio, Ibrahim Khaskheli, Pathan Ali Khokhar, NTUF leader Mehboob Qureshi, Home-based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) leader Shakeela Khan and others.
For more information, contact:
Deputy General Secretary,
National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF)
Office No. 726, Mashriq Centre, Gulshan-e-Iqbal,
Block No. 14, National Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-7075324
Fax: +92-21-34853685
Cell: +92-300-3587211
Email: ntufpak@gmail.com, info@ntufpak.org
Website: www.ntufpak.org