RAWALPINDI, July 27: The Anti-Privatisation Alliance (APA) on Wednesday vowed to launch coordinated protests to resist the takeover of Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) by Etisalat.

The alliance is a coalition of progressive political workers, trade unionists and concerned citizens.

In a meeting, held at the Rawalpindi Press Club on Wednesday, the representatives of different bodies said that the struggle against PTCL’s privatisation was far from over and coordinated protests would be organized in advance to stop the planned takeover of the company by Etisalat.

It was also agreed that the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills and Sui Southern Gas Company would also be resisted. The meeting also decided that the candidates favouring privatisation in the upcoming local body elections would be opposed.

Speaking on the occasion, Asim Sajjad of the People’s Rights Movement (PRM) pointed out that the PTCL strike had jolted the state despite the fact that the labour movement in Pakistan was still very much in the retreat. He said there was still time for the other trade unions and political organisations to redeem themselves as PTCL workers had planned another round of protests in the near future.

Lala Hanif of the PTCL Unions Action Committee (UAC) said it was the duty of all trade unionists and political workers in the country to exercise their right to association and protest against privatisation.

He said during the tenure of Musharraf government big public sector service providers had been targeted for privatisation. He said telecommunications, water, gas, power and education must remain in the control of the public sector because private sector was least concerned about the needs of the working class.

Other speakers urged the public sector organisations to improve their performance so that the propaganda used to justify privatisation could be debunked. In this regard, it was asserted that many state organisations were largely anti-people in their operation but it did not mean that state assets should be divested.

The APA had recently held a public meeting in Karachi and will soon hold one in Faisalabad.

It was agreed that once public meetings had been held in different cities across the country, coordinated actions would start. Among the coordinated actions discussed were token strikes in all public sector organisations, hunger strike camps, letter Committees were formed to take this process forward. Among those who were present on the occasion were representatives of OGDC, Pakistan Railways, PWD, OPF, CDA, Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation, Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party, People’s Rights Movement, National Workers Party, Labour Party Pakistan, High Court Bar Association, Socialist Movement Pakistan, Trade Union Rights Campaign, All-Pakistan Alliance for Katchi Abadis and many others.