HYDERABAD: The All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union (CBA) went on a strike on Monday for five days against privatisation of power distribution companies throughout the country.

All offices of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and the Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco) remained dysfunctional where workers held protest demonstrations and assured union leaders of their full support.

Workers also shut Hesco and Sepco units and installations as well as departments of reading, billing, computer etc although they attended to emergencies at complaint centres. Only skeleton staff of power generation houses was present to run the system.

Poor consumers who received out-of-proportion bills failed to get them corrected because of the strike. Hesco sub-division offices were issuing thousands of detection/ assessment bills to consumers to hush up rampant corruption of lower staff and officers. These power bills have made their lives miserable.

Work remained suspended in offices of various cities which fall under the jurisdiction of Hesco and Sepco, including those of Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Ghotki, Khairpur, Nawabshah, Sanghar, Tando Adam, Digri, Badin, Tando Mohammad Khan, Thatta, Sujawal, Jamshoro, Dadu, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar and others.

According to a spokesperson for CBA, Mohammad Hanif Khan, Sepco and Hesco officers associations presidents Riaz Pathan and Mehmood Qaimkhani assured the union of their full cooperation.

Union’s central president Abdul Latif Nizamani demanded in a statement that the federal government must cancel its plan to privatise the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), which was the first phase.

He also predicted that the government in the second phase would also privatise the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco).At the outset of five-day tool-down and pen-down strike in Larkana, workers under the flag of Wapda Hydroelectric Central Labour union did not attend their assignments on Monday.

In Shahdadkot, Mirokhan, Naudero, Ratodero, Dokri and Warah, the workers in the lead of regional chairman of the union, Nisar Ahmed Shaikh, took out a procession.

Like others parts of Sindh, the employees of Sepco/Wapda also observed a pen and tool-down strike in different towns of Sukkur, Ghotki, Kandhkot-Kashmore and Jacobabad districts on Monday.

Workers in Khairpur also follow the strike call. All the offices of Sepco in Khairpur, Kingri, Thari Mirwah, Faiz Gunj and other sub division offices in Khairpur district remained locked.

Employees of Hesco operation division Mirpurkhas observed the strike after closing all the offices. They even boycotted the recovery campaign as well as reading process on the directives of union’s president Abdul Lateef Nizamani.

Union workers took out rallies and staged demonstrations in Naushaharo Feroze, Tharoshah, Bhria City, Kandiaro and Mahrab Pur against the proposed privatisation of Wapda.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2015