HYDERABAD, April 5: On a call of the Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union (CBA), Hesco employees observed a day of protests throughout the province on Wednesday against the proposed privatization of the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company, Jamshoro Power House and other Wapda units.

In Hyderabad, employees of Hesco held a protest meeting in the labour hall in Gari Khata and then marched up to the Hyderabad Press Club.

Speaking on the occasion, CBA union president Abdul Latif Nizamani said employees were opposed to privatization of Wapda companies.

He warned the government to give up the privatisation programme, otherwise consequences would be disastrous. He said the Wapda employees would go to any extent to stop the privatization process.

He criticized Hesco officials for allegedly victimizing company employees and issuing show-cause notices to them under the Compulsory Retirement Ordinance, 2000. He warned that victimization of the employees could undermine industrial peace.

He said that if problems of workers were not resolved, they would besiege offices of officials concerned.

Mr Nizamani said Wapda was the backbone of agricultural and industrial development. He said agriculture and industrial sectors would be destroyed if Wapda was privatized.

He demanded that the Presidential Ordinance, 2002, (compulsory retirement) and the Industrial Relations Ordinance-2002 should be repealed.

He also demanded that the price hike should be controlled and problems of bangle industry workers resolved.

Iqbal Qaimkhani, Mir Khan Baloch, Malik Sultan, Qazi Saleem Anwar and others also spoke on the occasion.

DADU: Employees of Hesco took out a procession from the office of the executive engineer, Hesco, operations, to the press club.