Wapda & Electricity Workers
observed Protest Day all over the country today on 22nd
January, 2015 under the aegis of All Pakistan APDA Hydro Electric Workers
Union (CBA) along with Engineers Association over the proposed move of the Federal Government to private the National
Public Utility of Electricity on the behest of the World Bank.They brought out mass procession of
workers in all major cities of the country including Peshawar, Swat, Abbottabad, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, D.G. Khan,
Faisalabad, Sargodha , Sukkur, Larkana, Islamabad, Hyderabad and Quetta . A large procession of
workers along with Engineers was taken out from Bakhtiar Labour Hall,
Lahore. It held a mass Rally at Lahore Press Club and marched via Davis Road to
Chief Minister House, Mall Road, Lahore.
It was participated by the thousands
of WAPDA/Electricity Workers and the Engineers and was led b the Veteran Trade Union Leader Mr. Khurshid
Ahmed, General Secretary CBA Union alongwith M/S Muhammad Ramzan Butt, General Secreary and Nagra Secretary
of Engineers Association. The Rally was addressed by Mr. LA. Rehman, Secretary General Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan and Mr. Arshed Insari President Lahore Press Club and other representatives of the union . Speaking at this
occasion, Mr. Khurshid Ahmed, General Secretary
of the Union urged to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to have case studies why
Multan and Rawalpindi Private
Electricity Companies had failed and were handed over to WAPDA? Why Karachi
Electric Supply Company had not been running its own Power Plants
despite availing cheaper electricity from WAPDA daily and receiving the subsidies of Billions of Rupees
every year from the Federal Government? It had neither overcome load
shedding of electricity nor has reduced the price of electricity even in
Karachi City.
He declared that electricity is a basic need of people of Pakistan and
Government has constitutional obligations to apply electricity to the public, Industries, Agriculture and Commerce which could not fulfilled by the private
sectors. The Government should take urgent measures to overcome serious Elecy. load
shedding and provide Cheaper Elecy. to the Citizens instead of Privatization. He demanded that the government
should hold dialogue with the employees prior unilateral move of privatization
of National Public Utility of Electricity under the behest of the World Bank.
He demanded that the Government should get recovered the 200 Billions US$
deposited by politicians and capitalists and
feudal lords as announced by the Federal Finance Minister last year and get
recovered the taxes from the elite instead
of selling national silver to the capitalists. He declared that the working
class have restrained to take industrial
action so far. In case, the
Government failed to respond, the workers would be compelled to march to
Islamabad and would hold mass protest at Islamabad
on 28th January, 2015.
Secretary Information
All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union (C.B.A)
Bukhtiar Labour Hall 28 Nisbet Road Lahore.
0333-4276811
Dated 22 January 2015
