Crisis after crisis: Power, gas suspension drives industries into massive lay-offs
Crisis after crisis: Power, gas suspension drives industries into massive lay-offs
* ICCI president says around 25,000 industrial workers lost jobs over last few months, fears more job cuts if situation persistsBy Atif KhanISLAMABAD: Frequent power cuts and suspension of gas supply have forced most of the city’s industrial units to curtail their operations, thus, resulting in joblessness of scores of workers.Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Shaukat Masud told Daily Times on Friday that suspension of electric supply to local industries for seven hours a day and daylong gas outage had compelled local industrial units to halve their production and lay off 50 percent of their workers.He said there were around 1,000 industries, big and small, in the city, mostly in the I-9, I-10 and Kahuta industrial areas. He said on average, a small units had 30 workers and big ones 250.Job loss: Masud claimed around 25,000 industrial workers had lost jobs over the last few months. He warned the numbers might swell if frequent power and gas cuts continued any longer.Shift closure: Salman Arif, who owns a steel mill in the town, said hours-long power and gas load shedding had made him to close two of the three shifts in his unit.He said electric supply remained suspended from 12:00am to 12.00pm, while gas cut was for all day long.He said steel factories had cut production by around 60 percent since December last due to complete suspension of gas supply. He said he had so far laid many of his 250 workers off.He demanded immediate redressal of fuel crisis by the government to prevent local industries from complete ruin.Zahoor Ahmed, owner of a ghee mill, said gas suspension had made him to switch the unit to furnace oil, which was 60 percent high priced than natural gas.He regretted the government cut electric supply to industries without prior notice and explanation. He too feared massive closedown of industries if hours long power and gas cuts continued.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\01\10\story_10-1-2009_pg11_3
* ICCI president says around 25,000 industrial workers lost jobs over last few months, fears more job cuts if situation persistsBy Atif KhanISLAMABAD: Frequent power cuts and suspension of gas supply have forced most of the city’s industrial units to curtail their operations, thus, resulting in joblessness of scores of workers.Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Shaukat Masud told Daily Times on Friday that suspension of electric supply to local industries for seven hours a day and daylong gas outage had compelled local industrial units to halve their production and lay off 50 percent of their workers.He said there were around 1,000 industries, big and small, in the city, mostly in the I-9, I-10 and Kahuta industrial areas. He said on average, a small units had 30 workers and big ones 250.Job loss: Masud claimed around 25,000 industrial workers had lost jobs over the last few months. He warned the numbers might swell if frequent power and gas cuts continued any longer.Shift closure: Salman Arif, who owns a steel mill in the town, said hours-long power and gas load shedding had made him to close two of the three shifts in his unit.He said electric supply remained suspended from 12:00am to 12.00pm, while gas cut was for all day long.He said steel factories had cut production by around 60 percent since December last due to complete suspension of gas supply. He said he had so far laid many of his 250 workers off.He demanded immediate redressal of fuel crisis by the government to prevent local industries from complete ruin.Zahoor Ahmed, owner of a ghee mill, said gas suspension had made him to switch the unit to furnace oil, which was 60 percent high priced than natural gas.He regretted the government cut electric supply to industries without prior notice and explanation. He too feared massive closedown of industries if hours long power and gas cuts continued.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\01\10\story_10-1-2009_pg11_3
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