Holding Protest Rallies and protest
precessions taken out procession to express their indignation over the proposed
handing over the national wealth of National Public Utilities alike
Electricity, Oil & Gas, Civil Aviation, PIA, Railways etc to the elite by
privatization on the behest of IMF and the World Bank and raising price hike
and aggravating of the unemployment of the youth and workforce and abject
poverty and irrational gap between the rich and poor and prevalence of the
outdated exploitative system of feudalism and crony capitalism in the society.
It is also condemned the killing of the journalist and their relative in
Karachi by Terrorists and demanded the government to bring the accused to book
and supported the demands of Para Medical Government staff.
The workers held
mass Rallies in support of their legitimate demands in Peshawar, Mardan, Sawat,
Islamabad, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, Quetta, Hyderabad
and other cities of the country. At Lahore, a Mass Rally was held outside
Awan-e-Iqbal, Egerton Road, Lahore participated by thousands of workers
carrying Pakistani Flag, Red Banner, Play Cards in support of their demands and
chanting slogans, down with feudalism and capitalism and policies of IMF and
World Bank and privatization of National Public Utilities including Electrify
and other National Entities.
The Rally was addressed by Mr. I. A. Rehman,
Secretary General, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and renowned Jurist Mr.
Abid Hassan Minto, Ex-President, Bar Association of Pakistan and veteran Trade
Union Leader Mr. Khurshid Ahmad including M/s. Yousaf Baloch, Chairman, Akbar
Ali Khan, Add. General Secretary, Osama Tariq, Secretary, All Pakistan Workers
Confederation, Ch. Anwar, Railways Workers Union and Zakir Ali Shah, Muzafar
Mateen, Sajid Kazmi, Ch. Maqsood, Sardar Fasih ur Rehman, Rana Akram,
Zulqarnain Shah and other representatives of All Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electric
Workers Union (CBA). At this occasion,
Mr. I. A. Rehman demanded should place the proposed privatization of National
Public Utilities in related to public interest, therefore, should be placed
before the National Parliament,
Senate of Pakistan since the privatization of
state owned enterprises had raised unemployment thousands of workers,
therefore, the government should hold dialogue with the workers instead of the
following the dictation of IMF and the World Bank and take into confidence of
the workers organizations. Renowned Jurist, Mr. Abid Hassan Minto addressing
workers declared that the Electricity is a basic need of the citizens. It is
the government constitutional obligations to provide cheap electricity and free
from load shedding to the citizens instead of the privatization and extended
full support to just struggle of the working class against the proposed
privatization. The veteran trade union leader Mr. Khurshid, General Secretary
of the Union pointed out that the experience of
privatization of Karachi Electric Supply Company, Multan and Rawalpindi
Companies had completely failed even in the urban areas and policy of the
adoption of privatization of Electricity through Independent Power Houses led
to raise the exorbitant price of the Electricity @ Rs.25 to Rs.30 per
electricity unit by comparing with the
cost of the WAPDA Hydel Electricity Generation @ Rs.2.50 per electricity unit.
The government had not learnt the lesson from the bitter experience of this
privatization which resulted in raising high cost of Electricity and serious
load shedding instead of the introducing the progressive administrative reforms
in Electricity Companies whose control and complete ownership had been handed
over to the private Members of Board of Directors who had no investment even a
pie consisting of the person having Conflict of Interest becoming most of the
owner themselves. They are in majority themselves are industrialist and Traders
and political appointees. He pointed out that the government has running Metro
Buss Project investing billion of rupees itself, why the electricity which is
basic need could not be run efficiently in the public sector by handing over
either to WAPDA or PEPCO.
The workers
strongly demanded to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to resolve their important
labour issues through dialogue otherwise, the workers would launch countrywide
Protest for, get accepted their just demands of the public interest. Later on
the Protesters marched LESCO HQs and staged DHARNA in support of their just
demands.
By Secretary Information A.P.W.H.E.W.UNION CBA 0333-4276811
