ISLAMABAD, June 6: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Workers’ Action Committee on Monday gave a 24-hour deadline to the management to announce a package of over Rs3 billion for the employees and threatened to call a countrywide strike again if the demand was not met.

The deadline was given after a meeting between the committee and the management failed to make headway because PTCL President Junaid Khan made the package conditional with privatization. The union leaders wanted the announcement of the package without any compromise on the privatization issue, members of the action committee told Dawn.

The committee, in its meeting later, condemned the statement by Information Technology Minister Awais Leghari that the PTCL would be privatized as per schedule.

Some union leaders said workers had already gone on strike in Balochistan after deployment of army at PTCL exchanges there.

An official announcement stated that the PTCL chief had assured the employees that their interests would be safeguarded before and after the privatization of the company. He said the company had offered incentives of over Rs3 billion to the workers.

The statement said Mr Khan was of the view that privatization was a government subject and the management of the PTCL had nothing to do with that.

However, Mr Khan said the management would try its best to pursue the Privatisation Commission to incorporate clauses into the agreement with the buyers that would provide certain safeguards to the employees after the company’s sale.

It said Mr Khan had invited the employees to present their suggestions in this regard.