MUZAFFARGARH: Labour department officials got cases registered against five brick kiln owners in the district following surprise raids on Friday.

Assistant Director (Labour) Tahir Gurchani and his team paid a surprise visit to Al Abbas kiln on Ali Pur Road and found two children under 14 years of age working there. The kiln owner, Malik Ghulam Abbas, fled from the spot.

Later, Gurchani informed police and got a case registered against Abbas under Punjab Prohibition of Child Labour at Brick Kilns Act 2016.

The officials checked four other kilns also and found no labour agreement between kiln own-ers and workers. Gurchani asked police to register a case against owners of these four kilns.

Deputy Commissioner Saif Anwar Jappa said he had ordered Assistant Director Gurchani to pay surprise visits to brick kilns in light of the Punjab government`s action against kilns where owners had no agreement with labourers and for child labour. He claimed the culprits will be behind bars soon.

SAFETY: A workshop on health and safety of labourers was held at Mahmood textile mills on Friday where an expert from Lahore delivered a lecture for labourers.

The workshop was organised by the labour department where workers learnt safety mechanisms in cases of emergency or injury.