Even after 14 years of the Baldia Factory incident, the families of the victims still await justice. Victims’ association and labor unions claim that those responsible for the tragedy still remain unpunished. During press conference at the Karachi Press Club, the representatives of the Baldia Factory Fire Affectees Associations, in affiliation with National Trade Unions Federation (NTUF) claimed that the allegations of erupting fire were merely put on the scapegoats; real culprits of the tragedy still remain at large.
Nasir Mansoor, the General Secretary of the NTUF expressed, the Supreme Court’s verdict has strengthened their narrative that Baldia Tragedy was neither a terrorist attack nor an extortion case, but the negligence of the owners of the factory and the government institutions. He noted that the Industrialists did not want the inspection of fire safety, as most of the factories in Karachi are operated as a prison. He urged for the complete investigations of the failures and shortcomings of the Labour Department, Fire Brigade, Social Security, EOBI and other relevant institutions with ensured accountability wherever negligence is proven.
Zara Khan, Saeed Baloch and other trade unionists and activists articulated that the Supreme Court has declared the evidence for the terrorism claim insufficient. It is now necessary to re-evaluate the role of the factory owners, and across the country, especially in Karachi, a comprehensive, independent and transparent safety inspection of all factories be carried out to identify real hazards, and to prevent such tragedies in the future. They added that the group insurance case pending in the court of the Commissioner of Compensation should be decided as soon as possible so that the affected families can get their legal rights.
The families of the Baldia Fire Affectees demanded that the money provided by the German brand KIK for long-term compensation, which the International Labour Organization (ILO) transferred into an insurance company as an investment, without consultation with the affected and labour unions.
The details of that agreement must be shared with the affected families and the representatives of the labor unions immediately, wheras, the affected families and labour unions must be included in every decision regarding the agreement, pensions, and long-term compensation support.