HYDERABAD: Rallies were taken out and protests held on Thursday under the banner of All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union CBA here as well as in Larkana, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah and Naushahro Feroze in protest against proposed privatisation of different profitable power supply companies of the country.

In Hyderabad, workers of the union took out a rally from Labour Hall to the local press club while pressing the federal government to do away with its plans for privatisation and to fulfil a charter of perennial demands of workers immediately.

Carrying banners and placards, they were shouting vociferous slogans against the plan to privatise Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and Guddu Powerhouse. When it reached outside the local press club, the rally turned into a public meeting where fiery speeches were delivered by unionists.

Addressing the participants, CBA Sindh general secretary Iqbal Ahmed Khan demanded of Prime Minister Imran Khan to cancel such plans forthwith. He warned that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) governments had also plan­ned to privatise them, but workers did not allow them to do so and the past regimes had to accept demands of workers and ink a written accord not to outsource them at all.

Slamming the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-led federal government, he said those organisations were not personal property of anybody. He claimed that the government had planned to sell them at low cost to their “favourite” people in order to please them. If those institutions were privatised, power tariff would skyrocket further, he warned.

He also presented a charter of demands and appealed to the government to regularise positions of senior daily-wage earners and contractual workers, give them significant raise as per inflation, fill vacant posts, and provide them protection, all equipment and protective gear in the line of duty, implement son quota, act upon directives issued by the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) managing director in all distribution companies, ensure due promotion of employees and payment of all allowances-cum-privileges, including over­time, marriage grants and others. The government should lodge cases against those responsible for deaths of workers during duty hours, he added.

In Larkana, CBA workers gathered at the circle office and began marching on the roads in the lead of regional CBA chairman Nisar Shaikh. Carrying banners and placards, they assembled outside the main gate of Jinnahbagh while chanting slogans against the federal government’s policy of privatising the powerhouses and distribution companies.

They rejected the government’s strategy for the privatisation of Guddu Thermal Power Station, Lesco, IESCO and other power distribution companies under the “lame excuse” of being unproductive.

Contradicting the government’s stance and claim, they said that all power-generating units were earning profit.

They threatened a countrywide power shutdown strike if the government did not withdraw its decision.

In Mirpurkhas division, offices of Hesco remained closed as hundreds of workers of the Mirpurkhas chapter of the union held a demonstration outside the local press club against the proposed privatisation of the Water and Power Develop­ment Authority (Wapda).

They warned that their pro­test campaign would con­­tinue till withdrawal of the federal government decision.

Members of Wapda Hydro Electric Labour Union Nawabshah also took out a rally and held a protest demonstration against the privatisation of various distribution companies.

The rally started from Old Powerhouse Manuabad and culminated outside the local press club.

In Naushahro Feroze, union workers observed a pen-down strike and held a protest demonstration.

Similar protests were held in Kandiaro, Padidan and Mehrabpur.

Employees of Sukkur Elec­tric Power Company (Sepco) also took out rallies and held protest demonstrations in different towns of Sukkur, Ghotki, Jacobabad and Kan­dh­kot-Kashmore against the expected privatisation of the power distribution companies.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2019