Muzaffargarh: Scores of daily-wage labourers have demanded fpr setting up proper labour points with basic facilities as they have to wait for people for many hours to be hired by them at different locations in the city.
Daily wagers including masons, painters and other labourers told reporter one spot falls on a busy road housing Danish Boys High School, Danish Girls High School, Government Women’s College, the District Headquarters Hospital, Police Lines and the District Health Office, resulting in constant traffic pressure due to the movement of students, patients, ambulances, government employees and citizens. They said labourers standing along the roadside further disrupt the flow of traffic.
The workers said they are forced to wait for employment under open sky in scorching heat, rain and cold, with no shed, seating, clean drinking water or washroom facilities available at the site. They said that on many days they fail to find work and return home empty-handed after waiting the entire day.
They urged the Punjab chief minister, the Muzaffargarh deputy commissioner, the district administration and elected public representatives to establish proper labour points at various locations across the city, equipped with shaded shelters, clean drinking water, seating arrangements, washrooms and other basic facilities, so that workers can wait for employment in a dignified environment while also easing traffic congestion in the city.
The labourers said Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has launched welfare initiatives for students, farmers, widows and people from various walks of life, and appealed to her to also address the problems of daily wage earners who work hard to earn an honest living.