Pakistan - 150 members of Line and Grid Staff of Electricity Department loose their lives every year on account of Fatal Accident

Media advice WAPDA - " More than 150 members of Line and Grid Staff of Electricity Department sacrifice their lives every year on account of Fatal Accident and far more become permanently disabled while performing their duties. These accidents were mainly occurred on account of un-safe working conditions such as lacking observance of Safety Regulations and use of Standard Safety Equipments and comprehensive of Professional training of young labour force and poor supervision of the concerned officials. There is dire need to prevent such accidents and occupational diseases of the work-force to ensure the workers safe working conditions. It is also requested for effective Inspection Machinery in accordance with Labour Laws and I.L.O Convention No. 81 on the subject to check the menace of accident and ensuring better facilities to the victims and their families in terms of monetary help and provision of education facilities to the children of the deceased and disabled workers. These views were expressed by Mr Khurshid Ahmed General Secretary of the union alongwith other representatives of the union namely Rana Muhammad Akram, Ch. Maqsood Ahmed, Sajid Kazmi, Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah, Malik Noor Muhammad and others in a Special Event held at Bakhtiar Labour Hall, Lahore to-day on 15^th February, 2012 on the eve of commemoration of "SAFETY DAY" all over the country under the aegis of "PAKISTAN WAPDA HYDRO ELECTRIC CENTRAL LABOUR UNION" C.B.A. which was participated by many hundreds trade union representatives and workers of Elecy Department. This day was also commemorated in other cities including Quetta, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Mardan, Peshawar and other cities. At this occasion Chief Executive Officer, LESCO addressing the workers as Chief Guest advised them that it was their fundamental right to refuse to work in case of non-observance of Safety Regulations at work place. He declared that management had been making every efforts to improve the quality of Safety Equipments and training facilities and would take all care to promote Safety of the Workers and even making arrangement for provision of Bucket fitted Vehicle to work on the Line safely. He informed that Line Staff was allowed the facilities for grant to danger Allowance Rs/ 5000/- P.M. and up-gradation of their pay scales at two grades higher to them after completion o Professional Training of 5 years service and doubling their Group Life Insurance amount in recognition of their hazardous nature of work. It was also demanded to the management that the Quota reserved for the recruitment of Children of employees may be restored." - Advice from Osama Tariq Joint Additional General Secretary Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union C.B.A Bukhtiar Labour Hall 28, Nisbet Road Lahore Pakistan.