Anti-privatisation protest: Scores injured as police, OGDCL workers clash

ISLAMABAD: Clashes between police and protesting employees of the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL)on Wednesday left dozens from both sides injured, police and eyewitnesses said.

The employees of the OGDCL were trying to reach Parliament House to record their protest against the privatisation of the company.

The police, however, succeeded in arresting 25 employees.

About 400 workers first gathered in front of their building in Blue Area and then started marching towards the Parliament House via Attaturk Avenue.

Know more: OGDCL earns record Rs124bn profit

They were led by the union’s President Chaudhry Mohammad Akram and the CDA union president, Chaudhry Yasin.

When they reached Nadra Chowk, the police intercepted them. The protestors resisted the police, demanding access to the Parliament House.

However, senior officers of police and capital administration somehow succeeded in restricting the protesters to the Chowk.

In the meantime, MNA Jamshed Dasti reached the Chowk and started inciting the protesters to move towards Parliament House, the police and eyewitnesses said.

But the union leaders informed him that they had promised the police that they would not move any further from here.

Also read: Workers protest OGDCL privatisation

But the MNA continued inciting the protesters. The city SP and assistant commissioner then asked him not to take the law in his hands, they said, adding that he ignored their requests and asked the protesters to follow him. Section 144 had already been enforced.

As the MNA was leading the protesters, the police and administration retreated. When they (protesters) reached Radio Pakistan Chowk they all of a sudden started pelting policemen with stones.

As a result, SP city Rizwan Gondal, DSP City Ashraf Shah, SHO Kohsar, along with dozen other policemen were injured.

Later, the police resorted to baton charge which led to a physical fight between them. The police also used teargas to disperse the protesters.

The arrested persons were shifted to Kohsar and Secretariat police stations.

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Sunny

Oct 30, 2014 06:54am

That's what happens when you are not united. Police always show their power to week opposition with only few hundred protesters. now jamshed dasti should arreng early bails for them.

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Oct 30, 2014 10:06am

OGDCL Employees have absolutely no right to protest against a shareholder selling a fraction of his/her stake in the Company. It is very well known that OGDCL is a very generous paymaster despite being completely inefficient. The union is clearly trying to safeguard it's interests (i.e. very high pay with no actual work done). Also, it's time to realize (in case of the aforementioned employes) and time for the media to stop reporting this as a privatization. The Government will still own over 60% of OGDCL and there will be no resulting management or strategy change. In fact, the transaction might be good for the company in that it will result in a better class of investors / higher free float which will help identify it's true intrinsic value.

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Zulkifl Ibrahim

Oct 30, 2014 10:13am

OGDCL is actually one of the poor performing government companies like PIA, with thousands of excess staff. The only difference is that their end product oil and gas is so much in demand that masses have to buy it even it doubles the price. With the support they had from government, If they had worked properly they would have been working by now in atleast 4 to 5 countries of the world.

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Syed Ahmed

Oct 30, 2014 10:46am

@AK: Drawing very high pay with no actual work done, the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) earned record after-tax profit of Rs124 billion during the last financial year, showing a growth of 36 per cent. If they start working the profit will jump up many folds, therefore it must not be sold.

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Imran Khan

Oct 30, 2014 11:04am

Incapable govt in every field!!! Mian saab tajriba kahan gaya???? :/

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Annonymous

Oct 30, 2014 11:52am

Someone plz tell uninformed people that OGDCL is not being privatized. Government is only selling a small proportion of its holding in OGDCL and their is no change of management or threat to employees job. Media should also raise their level of awareness

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Oct 30, 2014 01:02pm

@Syed Ahmed I don't want to get into a long winded discussion on the future outlook of OGDCL. Just to put it in very basic terms, as long as the proceeds from the OGDCL divestment are deployed at a higher rate of return on equity than the current 12% return on market cap offered by OGDCL, it's a good decision. If one wants to make a sound argument, one can say that Nawaz bhai will use these funds inefficiently (budget spending doesn't really seem to be generating any positive economic results). Secondly, empirical evidence has almost always demonstrated that state owned enterprises are pretty low down the order of efficiency. With top quality shareholders holding the management of OGDCL accountable - it is likely that the company will perform better in the future which will HELP the remaining stake of the GOP (60+%) gain value.

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