After lifting of ban on raids on industrial units in the wake of Kharak disaster at Lahore, EOBI, Social Security and Labour Department have started visiting factories and mills in Faisalabad resulting in panic and harassment among the business community.
In an emergent meeting of textile associations of the city comprising of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association, All Pakistan Bedsheet and Upholstery Manufacturers Association, All Pakistan Cotton Power Looms Association, Small Power Loom Association, Council of Loom Owners, Pakistan Embroidery Association and All Pakistan Textile Sizing Association under the Chairmanship of Rana Arif Tauseef deliberated the situation and decided to offer stiff resistance against attempt to disrupt industrial peace, productivity and manufacturing process.
The meeting was attended by Qamar Aftab, Vice Chairman PHMA, Imran Mahmood, Vice Chairman APBUMA, Khalid Mahmood Cheema, Chairman APCL and President Mian Muhammad Asghar, Waheed Khaliq Raamay, Chairman CLO, Mian Nadeem Puri, Chairman PEA, Mirza Muhammad Shafiq, former Chairman APTSA and representatives of textile sector asserted that the economy of the country was already tottering. The textile exports were steeply declining and have gone down a billion dollars in first half of the fiscal and likely to fall by 3 billion dollars by the end of current fiscal.
Representatives of all textile associations strongly opposed the EOBI, Social Security and Labour Department visits and said that both federal and provincial governments had stopped unnecessary inspection of industrial units in 2003 for smooth production process but the officials of these departments have started to visit industrial units for inspection of records and pressurising the industrialist to pay extra taxes to complete their tax revenue targets.
They said that such negative measures would not only disturb whole textile chain but also hamper the textile exports. They said that all such negative measures were adding fuel to the fire rendering millions of workers jobless. PTEA chairman demanded of the government to create business friendly policies for better and prosperous Pakistan.