LARKANA: The All Pakistan Wapda Hydroelec­tric Workers Union (CBA) has reaffirmed its resolve to resist government’s all moves to privatise Wapda and other power utilities.

CBA president Abdul Latif Nazamani and general secretary Khursheed Ahmed speaking at its regional seminar on safety and later speaking to the media here on Tuesday night complained that Wapda workers were neither looked after properly after getting injured in accidents nor were they provided proper health cover in the event of mishaps.

They criticised Wapda officials for focusing only on enhancing recoveries and not paying due attention to workers’ wellbeing.

They said the institutions that did not care for their workers’ safety, security and benefits did not achieve growth. Those at the helm of affairs more often talked about line losses and recovery, but they should also extend due facilities and protective gears to workers, they said.

They pointed out that there was a shortage of staff in power utilities and, therefore, urgent recruitment must be made to shed workload on workers. The institution should maintain a balance between the volume of work and strength of manpower, they stressed.

The CBA was against privatisation [of institutions] because this would undermine workers’ interests, they said, and cited the example of the K-Electric where things deteriorated after [formerly KESC] privatisation. Power consumers were also bearing the brunt of privatisation, they added.

They regretted that around 40 workers who had lost their lives over the last five years in the line of duty were still waiting for due financial assistance.

Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco) chief executive officer Saeed Ahmed Dawich said that electricity loadshedding would not come to an end until maximum revenue recovery was ensured. “Our top priority is to plug power theft,” he said, pointing out that none of the 558 feeders was getting full revenue recovery. “The only answer to zero loadshedding is no power theft,” he said.

CBA’s Balochistan chairman Mohammed Ramzan Achakzai, Sindh secretary Iqbal Khan, regional chairman Nisar Shaikh, Wapda’s deputy director (safety) Kashif Qureshi and others also spoke at the seminar.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2022