KARACHI: All rail traffic to and from Karachi remained suspended for hours on Tuesday as hundreds of sacked employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills staged a sit-in on and around the Bin Qasim railway tracks demanding reversal of the government’s decision regarding retrenchment of around 4,500 workers and introduction of a reforms plan to revive the past glory of the industrial giant.

A Pakistan Railways official said that movement of trains remained suspended for more than eight hours and the administration was busy convincing the Pakistan Steel workers to call off the protest but in vain. He asked the passengers to contact the PR helpline for new schedule of trains.

The protest coincided with a meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad that approved the privatisation of the PSM and a golden handshake to its employees.

Labour leaders and representatives of protesting workers condemned the termination of services of around 4,500 PSM employees and asked the government to reverse its decision and stop the “economic murder” of the people.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2020