The Marble Industry Association in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced a strike and closed more than 4,000 factories due to additional taxes levied in electricity bills, which has left more than one million workers unemployed.
According to the association, there are more than 4,000 marble factories in the province, including 44 in Swat and about 500 in Buner. There are up to one million workers in the province with nearly 20 workers employed in each factory.
Swat Marble Industry Association spokesperson Dr. Prince Fazal Rahman said that they were being charged between Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 under the guise of fuel adjustment in electricity bills. He added that the factories paid up to Rs75,000 under the guise of quarter tariff.
“The bills also include sales tax, withholding tax, GST and further tax which is a gross excess,” the spokesman said.
Muhammad Rasool Khan of the Truck Owners Association has said that 1,500 trucks registered with these marble factories in Swat and Buner have stopped, due to which 4,500 people associated with these trucks have lost their jobs.
“Factory workers, truckers and all the miners were living in a state of unemployment and severe depression due to closure of factories,” he added.
According to Khan, after the coming of this government, people belonging to all walks of life had become very anxious. If their demands were not accepted soon, they would be forced to beg, he added.
Akhtar Khan, a labourer working in a marble factory in Swat, said that the stoves in their houses had become cold due to the closure of the factories.
“If left unchecked, there will be famine in their homes,” he added.
Analysts suggest that the government must immediately invite the WAPDA department and the owners of the marble industry for talks.
