KARACHI, Dec 29: The leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, on Friday slammed regime’s ‘anti-labour’ and privatisation policies besides rejecting KESC’s bid to enhance tariff in contravention to the assurance given at the time of taking over the utility.

Speaking at a news conference, he opposed privatisation of strategic assets and giving it under foreign control and declared that his party would review the policy in this regard and make it more favourable for the country.

He said the present government’s policy would turn Pakistan into a dumping ground for the products of developed countries and therefore it must be reversed.

Mr Rabbani claimed the anti-worker policies were adopted to please the IMF, the World Bank and other international donor agencies by strangling people. Slamming the government for amending labour laws, he referred to amendments made to Factories Act 1934 through which working hours for women had been extended from sunset to 10pm. By amending the Workmen Compensation Act, Labour Appellate Tribunal had been abolished under IRO 2002.

He claimed that the PPP after coming to power would repeal IRO 2002 and a new law would be formulated after taking all stakeholders into confidence and right to trade union activities would be restored even in the financial institutions. He also demanded implementation of the seventh wage award for journalists.

Mr Rabbani, who is also deputy secretary-general of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party, said the regime had carried out downsizing on the pretext that such units were not economically viable. But after removing employees, mostly from grade 1 to 11, the regime hired people on hefty contracts in many organisations.

In the context of alleged anti-worker policies, he cited PIA in which, according to him, 76 crew members were given suspension notices and experienced crew was sent to grooming school, perhaps as a first step to ease them out. He also alleged that PIA management was compromising on security of passengers and the crew by asking the crew members to work for longer hours.

He also slammed the government for the continuing and unannounced load shedding in the city and warned that it could lead to violent reaction from the people due to what he termed as callous and criminal silence of the regime.

Mr Rabbani alleged that the government had failed to meet power, water and other needs of the people therefore it should quit immediately otherwise harassed and exploited people would take to streets and force it run away.

He alleged that KESC management did not have the capacity to meet the growing demand and it had not invested the promised amount to the uplift of its generation and distribution capacity.

Mr Rabbani claimed that in view of the flawed privatisation of the KESC, the government lacked moral ground to give any directive to the new management of the KESC. He assured that the PPP would safeguard workers’ interests and would not let national assets to pass into foreign hands.