04 September 2004	Saturday	18 Rajab 1425

KARACHI, Sept 3: Speakers at a workers' meeting, organized by the KESC Employees Action Committee on Friday, demanded that the process of proposed privatization of the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation be stopped immediately.

The workers' meeting, held at the Press Club, was addressed by Senators Raza Rabbani, Prof Ghafoor Ahmad, MNA Mohammad Hussain Mehanti, Mairaj Mohammmad Khan, Mushahidullah Khan, Karamat Ali, Kamran Chaudhry, Mohammad Akhlaq, Latif Mughal, Hafiz Taqi, Manzoor Badayuni and others.

They said that the privatization would have a multidimensional effect on the national economy. The private party would enhance the electricity tariff and the industrialists and exporters would find it very difficult to compete in the international market, they said.

The speakers also expressed apprehension that the private owner would sack a large number of KESC employees to cut costs. The action would result in unemployment of the workers aggravating the already over-saturated employment market, they added.

They said that the government had proposed privatization of the KESC, as it was facing huge losses every year. However, they added, the main reason for such losses was the non-technical management.

They demanded that all non-technical people, holding top management slots, be sent back to their original postings in their respective organizations, and highly professional management be brought into the KESC to improve the working.

It was mentioned at the meeting that the transmission and distribution losses of the KESC were 36 per cent in the past, but, the same had increased to 42 per cent as the non-technical people had been imposed on the KESC. One per cent in KESC losses meant Rs500 million loss, they said.

The workers said that the government had planned to privatize the KESC on the directives of international financial organizations. They expressed apprehension that the KESC would be handed over to some multinational companies on the directives from international financial institutions.

They said that the KESC was supplying electricity to a number of sensitive installations in the city. The privatization could also result in creating security problems, they added.

The meeting demanded that trade union activities must be allowed in the organization so that workers could participate in healthy activities. It was pointed out that trade unions were banned in the KESC along with the Water and Power Development Authority over five years back and when the issue was raised and the workers staged huge demonstrations, the International Labour Oraganization (ILO) asked the government to lift the ban.

The KESC workers regretted that the government lifted the ban on trade unions from the WAPDA, but not from the KESC and the workers were still deprived from their fundamental rights.

They demanded that the arrears of all workers should be paid and the facilities, including medical treatment, which were being made hard to get or being withdrawn must be restored.

Mentioning that the wages of KESC workers have not been enhanced since long, they urged the authorities concerned to review and increase the same in consultation with the real representatives of the workers. Besides, all those workers who had been sacked under any pretext, including different schemes offering monetary benefits, should be reinstated, they said.

They also demanded that the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002 should be abolished and new worker-friendly laws, after holding consultations with the real representatives of the workers, be formulated.