KARACHI, Dec 28: Speakers at a conference on Wednesday condemned the privatization policy of the government and sought its abolition. Speaking at the “WTO, anti-privatization workers conference”, organized by the Anti-privatization Alliance and the Labour Party Pakistan, they demanded that IRO 2002 and all other anti-worker laws be abolished and trade union activities be allowed in institutions so that rights of the workers could be safeguarded.

They further stressed that no organization be privatized in future, and all those given to the private sector be taken back by the government.

Labour Party Pakistan chief Farooq Tariq urged the workers to forge unity and resist the anti-worker policies of the government.

He said unless workers are elected to the decision-making forums, like parliament, they could not safeguard their rights effectively.

He said earlier the government had stated that it was only privatizing the loss-making organizations, but it had recently privatized the PTCL which earned billions of rupees in profit annually.

He also condemned the government for following the WTO and said under the agreement soon, agriculture in developing countries would also be controlled by the multinational companies of the developed countries and the poor masses of the developing countries would suffer more.

Other speakers, condemned the privatization policy, and said it was being pursued on the directives of international financial institutions which wanted control over resources of the developing countries through multinational companies.

They said that the government owing to its anti-worker policies had, so far, unemployed over a million people while due to its faulty economic polices, formulated on the directives of foreign financial institutions, over 60 per cent of the people were living below the poverty-line.

They demanded that proposed privatization of the steel mills and Karachi Shipyard be stopped and all those already privatized units, like the PTCL, KESC be taken back by the government.

Pointing out that the condition of the informal sector workers be improved and they be given protection under the workers laws and they be declared as workers.

They also condemned the present procedure of fixing fuel prices and demanded that public representatives be included in the committee so that prices could be fixed keeping in view the public interest. They demanded that minimum wages be fixed at Rs 7,000 per month.

They demanded that all laws that are discriminatory towards vulnerable sections of society, including women be abolished.

Sattar Butt, Shehla Rizwan, Ghani Zaman Khan, Akhtar Shakir, Yunus Rahu, Nawab Ali, Ghulam Mohammad, Punhal Magsi, Ali Hassan, Tahira Khan read Najma Sadiq’s paper, Haji Khan Bhatti, and others also spoke.

They also criticized Gen Musharraf for pushing for the construction of Kalabagh Dam, which has been rejected by the provincial assemblies of three provinces, and demanded that it should not be constructed as its construction could threaten the federation.

They also condemned the carpet bombing in Balochistan and expressed solidarity with Balochs.

They said that masses in Punjab have also started realizing and were condemning the atrocities and bombing being carried out by the army in Balochistan.

They were also realizing the exploitation of the Seriaki people by the ruling elite and soon demonstrations would be organized in Punjab to force the rulers to stop their exploitative policies.