KARACHI, July 1: The Karachi Electric Supply Company on Friday announced termination of the services of 38 employees, who were allegedly involved in subversive attacks on the central stores and head offices that left a number of people injured and many vehicles damaged.

The termination, which has come just a few days after the final re-launch of the voluntary separation scheme (VSS) that had earlier been rejected by the workers, brings the total number of sacked employees to 139 since May 29.

Most of the sacked employees had been identified while carrying out subversive attacks and acts of sabotage against the company’s officials, offices, installations, equipment and infrastructure, claimed a KESC spokesperson.

Just a few days back, the Abraj-led management had sacked CBA Union chairman Akhlaq Ahmad and about 60 others.

The fresh move of the management would further aggravate affairs of the privatised power utility as its workers have been camping outside the KESC head offices in Gizri for the last one month against a likely retrenchment of 4,000 employees.

The over 4,000 workers being described by the management as ‘non-core, non-technical, and non-management’ employees had recently been offered the VSS once again. According to the KESC spokesperson, this time the incentive package for the employees concerned under the VSS has been increased by five to 15 per cent.

The 38 employees sacked on June 30 are Sardar Tehmoor Khan, Abdul Aziz Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Abdul Qadir, Rahat Shah, Abid Amin, Mohammed Mustafa, Qutub Uddin, Raj Muhammad, Waris Khan, Mohammad Hanif Khan, Gul Zarin, M. Rasheed Khan, Amin Javed, Ghulam Haider, Mohammed Atif, Rashid Azeem, Syed Shameen Akbar, Shoukat Ali, Mohammad Sajjid, Gul Yar, Shah Khalid, Amir Nawab, Tariq Mehmood, Abdul Wahid Kazmi, Mohammad Saeed Khan, Manzoor Ahmed, Muhammad Asif Khan, Farooq Khan, Bashir Ahmed, Afsar Ali Khan, Hakim Ali, Ghulam Rasool Abbasi, Ghulam Murtaza, Sard Ali Khan, Gul Janan, Abdul Majeed, Rashid Haroon.

KESC Labour Union President Usman Baloch said he was still optimistic that all pending issues between the management and labourers, including these recent terminations, could be sorted out through talks under the patronage of government authorities concerned.

He claimed that none of the protesting KESC employees were involved in any serious act of violence or sabotage, which warranted termination of service as was done by the KESC management.

He said that the labour unions concerned would bring the massive retrenchment to the knowledge of relevant quarters.

The management alleged that three out of five unions of the protesting workers had distanced themselves from the violent protests and criminal activities. They also supported the VSS being offered last time by the management, the spokesperson claimed. However, Mr Baloch rejected the management’s claim saying that it was part of propaganda against the Mazdoor Ittehad. He added that the office-bearers of the KESUTY Union, who had earlier told a press conference that they had stopped work, had assured other labour unions of their full support for the ongoing movement of KESC workers.

KESC People’s Workers Union President Aslam Samoo said they had totally rejected the re-launched VSS for the employees that tantamount to their economic massacre. He said they had appealed to the employees to reject the re-offered VSS and told them not to get hoodwinked by anti-labour tactics of the KESC management.

The labour unions being part of the KESC Mazdoor Ittehad were ready to hold talks with the management to resolve workers’ issues, he said, adding that a dialogue could be initiated even at a 30-minute notice.

Meanwhile, the KESC condemned the alleged hostile labour union rally on Thursday outside the CEO’s residence where “union miscreants” shouted slogans.

The power utility demanded that the authorities carry out their constitutional and legal responsibility of protecting life of citizens. The KESC alleged that miscreants attacked KESC people and property in the presence of law-enforcers, who failed to act in time.

“The KESC understands that although the government has symbolically posted personnel of law enforcement agencies at some of the KESC offices and installations as silent observers who are perhaps not instructed to provide due protection to the employees and offices in the spirit of Sindh High Court orders and the normal law of land.”

The KESC spokesperson claimed that since May 9, more than 151 KESC employees in different cadres had been beaten up and tortured by “union miscreants” who also adversely impacted two power plants, temporarily shut down two grid stations, damaged 27 cables and conductors, destroyed 26 vehicles, burnt or tampered with 19 substations, damaged the IT infrastructure five times, and, disabled 20 feeders and transformers. “One senior security officer and an employee of an outsourced company working for the KESC have been murdered.”