On 3rd March, 2015
at Quetta, Mardan, Sawat, Peshawar Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Bahawalpur,
Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad, DG Khan, Faisalabad, Sahiwal,
Lahore and other cities of the country to protest against the government policy
of Electricity Load Shedding and rising prices of Electricity. They demanded to
the Government of Pakistan to adopt the policies for generation of cheaper
electricity through Hydel, Gas and Coal-Fired Thermal Power Stations in the
Public Sector and introduce administrative reforms to raise productivity of
Electricity Power Wing instead of keeping the Electricity State Owned Companies
under the control of the Private Members of Board of Directors who had no investment of even single rupee. They had
been made the owner of the companies despite having conflict of interest and
demanding to the Prime Minister to review the policy of the privatization of
Electricity, since it is a basic need of the citizens, National Industries,
Agriculture & Commerce. The private
Companies of Rawalpindi and Multan to provide electricity even had failed in
those cities in the past. Those were handed over to WAPDA. Karachi Electric
Supply Company (KESC) has been receiving 650 Megawatts Electricity from WAPDA
daily at far cheaper rates and has not been even paying its dues. It has been
receiving the billions of Rupees subsidy every year from the Government of
Pakistan while it had been closing its own Thermal Power Plants in order to
earn double profits. It had been even acknowledged by the Federal Minister for
Water Power himself before the Committee of Senate of Pakistan. These demands
were raised in the resolution passed in the Protest Rally held by the Union
before Chief Minister’s House, Mall Road, Lahore. The Protesters marched from
the various parts of the city and gathered at Lahore Press Club and went up to
the Chief Minister’s House, Mall Road, Lahore, wherein they held ‘DHARNA ‘and
presented a memorandum to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat containing their
demands. The Rally was also addressed by Veteran Trade Union Leader Mr.
Khurshid Ahmed, General Secretary of the Union alongwith the leader to
Electricity Engineers Association, M/s.
Ch. Anwar Ali, President, Railway Workers Union (CBA), Akbar Ali Khan, General
Secretary, National Bank of Pakistan Employees Union (CBA), Haji Muhammad Younis, Sajid Kazmi, RanaAkram, Rana Abdul Shakoor, Mateen Zafar and others representatives of the union. They also condoled the tragic deaths of their line staff died due to electrocution alongwith the victims of the terrorists at Lahore, Peshawar and Shikarpur and appreciated the efforts of Armed Forces against the terrorism. The meeting in a resolution demanded to the Prime Minister of Pakistan that proposed privatization of Electricity may be placed before the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan. The privatizing of Electricity would also give rise Inter-Provincial Dispute alike Water Distribution. The Workers & Engineers be afforded opportunity to present their view point being essential Stake Holders. They further declared that in case the government did not hold meaningful dialogue with the Workers and Engineers they would be compelled to take industrial actions.
Advice from
Osama Tariq
All
Pakistan Wapda Hydro
Electric Workers Union
CBA
Bukhtiar Labour
Hall 28,Nisbet Road Lahore
Pakistan.
Phone # 37222192-37229419
Fax:- 0092-42-37239529
E-Mail:- pwf@brain.net.pk
