PESHAWAR: The employees of Peshawar Electric Supply Company on Thursday boycotted their duty and observed a sit-in outside Pesco headquarters here for acceptance of their demands, including elevation of basic pay scale of technical staff.

The sit-in and protest rally was attended by Pesco workers from different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They were led by central chairman Gohar Taj, chairman Mohammad Iqbal, general secretary Mustajab and deputy chairman Ali Syed.

The demands raised by them were about enhancement in the basic pay scale of technical staff, including meter readers, linemen, and inventory control and M&T staff .

They also opposed suspension of a chief engineer operation, Iqbal Marwat, and took out a procession from the Pesco headquarter to Bacha Khan Chowk. They were holding banners and placards inscribed with their demands and also shouted slogans against the federal government for using delaying tactics to resolve their problems.

The protesters warned that if their demands were not accepted they would suspend power supply in the province. The speakers said that the relevant officials were least bothered to pay attention to the workers’ problems so they boycotted their duties in a state of compulsion.

They also demanded hard area allowance and special bonus before Eidul Azha.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2016