May 11, 2005	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 2, 1426

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SUKKUR, May 10: Hundreds of PTCL employees took out a procession in the city on Tuesday in protest against privatization and downsizing. Leaders of the PTCL Employees Unions Action Committee led the procession. They started marching from the regional office and after passing through the main thoroughfares reached the Sukkur press club.

They were carrying banners and placards against privatization, downsizing and in favour of their demands including PTCL pay scales, revision of medical policy and restoration of son quota.

The leaders said since conversion of the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation into a company limited it was minting huge profits but the workers were deprived of their rights.

They said the high-ups of the company were enjoying huge salary packages and other benefits but the lower cadre employees were deprived of all rights.

They said overlooking the senior PTCL officials, outsiders were being appointed on huge salary packages which was quite injustice.

They said the protest would continue till their demands were accepted.

HYDERABAD: A group of PTCL workers, under the banner of the Workers Union Action Committee, Southern Telecommunication Region-I, marched from the central telephone exchange to the press club here on Tuesday to protest against privatization of the company.

Talking to journalists, Abdul Hameed Hingoro, Mohammad Azam Qureshi, Ghulam Haider Jamali, Jafar Shah and others said PTCL authorities had invited leaders of the action committee for talks on the privatization issue but they had rejected the invitation because they had strong reservations over the company privatization.

They argued that the annual net profit of the PTCL was Rs29 billion, therefore, there was no logic to privatize the company.

They demanded that pay scale of company employees should be revised, leave encashment rule be made applicable from the date of appointment, medical policy be improved, employment quota for children of employees be restored and daily-wage employees be confirmed in service.

NAWABSHAH: Members of PTCL union action committee, Nawabshah telegraph division, took out a protest rally against privatisation of the company, here on Tuesday.

Led by Basheer Daudpoto, Qadir Qureshi, Nazeer Memon, Mukhtiar and Ashiq Kaleri, the rally began from new telecom building, which reached at the Nawabshah press club.

They were carrying banners and placards and raising slogans against the privatisation.