PESHAWAR: The Wapda employees on Wednesday boycotted duty and held rallies across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against attacks on their installations, delay in promotions and illegal appointments, and demanded corrective measures, including security measures, by the government.

In Peshawar, a rally was taken out from Wapda House.

Led by All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union central chairman Gohar Taj and provincial chairman Haji Mohammad Iqbal, the protesters marched through different roads and reached Bacha Khan Chowk.

Holding banners and placards and shouting slogans against the government, they insisted the government had planned to privatise Wapda without taking them into confidence but they would foil the plan.

The protesters said the electric supply companies owned their successful functioning to the hard work of employees.

They said the government had failed to overcome the excessive loadshedding problem prompting people to attacking Pesco installations.

The protesters demanded disqualification of local PTI MPA Haji Fazal Elahi for what they claimed leading a mob, which attacked 132-KV Rehman Baba Grid Station, held Wapda workers hostage and subjected them to violence lately.

They claimed the police were present around the grid station during the attack but they didn’t act against mobsters, including MPA.

The protesters said they were real protectors of Wapda installations but the government didn’t consult their representatives on important matters.

Gohar Taj expressed concern about denial of Rs4,000 monthly allowance to Pesco meter readers, saying it had created unrest among workers.

He said other power companies regularly paid the said allowance to their workers.

The Wapda union leader also complained the government was unduly delaying approval of the two-step post upgradation for Pesco workers as well as appointment of family members of retired and deceased workers to the company.

He opposed the appointment of a ‘junior officer’ as the Quetta Electric Supply Company chief executive officer and warned if the appointment was not withdrawn, workers would agitate.

“We are opposed to all illegal appointments and will protest if the federal government doesn’t accept our demands,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2015

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