07 February 2005	Monday	27 Zilhaj 1425

KARACHI, Feb 6: While four more workers of the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation joined their colleagues in the hunger strike against privatization of the utility on Sunday , a delegation of the workers, after holding a meeting with the KESC high-ups, decided to continue their protest.

The workers had started their hunger strike to protest against privatization of the KESC on Friday. Everyday, four workers are joining the hunger strike; two of them for hunger strike till death, while two others for a token hunger strike of 12 hours.

The four workers, who joined the hunger strike camp at the Press Club on Sunday are Akber Korejo, Syed Aslam Shah, Mohamad Ali and Abdullah Angaria. Mr Korejo and Mr Shah announced hunger strike till death, however, later, Mr Shah was shifted to a hospital.

The workers, who had announced hunger strike till death on the previous two days, were Akhlaq Khan, Usman Baloch, Mohammad Hussain and Mohammad Jehangir. Mr Khan's health also deteriorated and he was shifted to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases late on Saturday night, but he returned to the camp without taking any treatment.

Meanwhile, KESC's Col Aslam came to the protesters at the camp and asked them to hold a dialogue with the KESC management, following which a six-member delegation comprising Latif Mughal, Aslam Samoon, Ayaz Mengal, Haji Shehzad, Chaudhry Aslam and Zahoor Ahmad went to the KESC head office in the evening.

From KESC's side, Brig Tariq Sadozia, Col Mushtaq, Col Aslam, Rauf Yusuf, Khalid Iqbal and Jameel Gul held discussions with the workers and asked them to end their protest, assuring them that their demands would be considered sympathetically. But as nothing concrete was offered and no commitment was made, the workers did not agree to call off their protest, Latif Mughal, who went to the meeting, told Dawn.

The workers demanded that trade union activities be restored in the organization, all contractual employees be regularized, and the privatization of the KESC be cancelled, etc.