July 17, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 13, 1429

HYDERABAD, July 16: The PTCL employees in different parts of Sindh continued their protest against the company’s policy to change cadres of regular PTCL employees from BPS to UPS under a new scheme.

The workers see the recently-announced Unified Pay Scale, which is supposed to replace the Basic Pay Scale, as a threat to their job security in the wake of privatisation of the company.

In Hyderabad, PTCL workers went on two-hour tool down strike and held corner meetings.

PTCL Employees Union CBA deputy chief organiser Shakeel Ahmed addressed a corner meeting in Latifabad exchange. He said the CBA should be included in the committee formed by the prime minister to look into PTCL employees issues regarding the change of their cadre.

He said if any non-representative union was included to take any decision in this regard it would be rejected by the employees.

He said the PTCL employees would observe a full day strike from Thursday as there was no change in their demands which include shelving of the UPS package scheme and payment of salaries to employees from 2002 as per their BPS.

He said a proper procedure should be adopted for holding negotiations with CBA union by the committee formed by the prime minister.

In Dadu and Jamshoro districts, PTCL workers observed strike in the offices and field employees observed sit-in outside the office of PTCL in Dadu.

Labour leader Mohammad Ibrahim said that employees of PTCL had not received salaries since last many months hence, they were facing financial crisis.

He said that PTCL was earning billions of rupees but lower level employees were not getting their salaries.

In Larkana, PTCL employees, led by their leader Zulfikar Sangi, took out a rally which emerged from the main telephone exchange.

They were carrying banners and placards. They marched on the main roads of city and assembled outside the press club. They were chanting slogans against the PTCL management and burnt copies of the UPS.

Speaking on the occasion, they warned the PTCL management for early acceptance of their demands.

The daily two-hour token strike would continue till the acceptance of demands, they said.

They lashed out at police for baton-charging peaceful procession on Tuesday in which seven PTCL employees received injuries.

They alleged ASP city Nasir Qureshi and DSP Habibur Rehman Abro for baton charging.