HYDERABAD / LAR­KANA / MIRPU­RKHAS: Thous­ands of electricity workers took to the streets across Sindh on Tuesday in a co-ordinated show of defiance against the federal government’s plans to privatise power distribution companies, warning that job losses and higher electricity bills would follow any sell-off.

Rallies were held simultaneously in Hyderabad, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Badin and several other cities, organised under the banner of the All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union (CBA). Workers marched through main roads, raised slogans against rising inflation and converged on press clubs and public squares to deliver their message to the government.

In Hyderabad, CBA Union president Abdul Latif Nizamani led the central rally, demanding that the government abandon privatisation of profitable distribution companies including those serving Islamabad, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Hyderabad. He called for a minimum monthly wage of Rs80,000 and a pension floor of Rs50,000, and urged the prime minister and chief ministers to cut petroleum and electricity prices to ease the burden on ordinary people.

Mr Nizamani also demanded the restoration of free electricity units for grade-17 employees and above — a benefit originally granted in 1974 — and called for an end to tax deductions from lower-cadre salaries. He pressed the government to bring landlords into the tax net and criticised what he described as excessive reliance on IMF directives in shaping economic policy.

In Larkana, hundreds of workers marched from the SE Office to Royal Chowk in sweltering heat, led by Regional Chairman Nisar Shaikh. Union leaders warned they would not accept privatisation under any circumstances. They also raised a separate grievance: that Sepco workers had been denied hardship allowances extended to the employees of other power companies elsewhere in the country, despite earlier assurances from the company’s board chairman. Leaders announced a two-day tool-down strike for Friday and Saturday if their demands went unaddressed.

Hesco employees in Mirpurkhas marched from the divisional office to the local press club, carrying banners and placards. Speakers condemned the privatisation proposal and warned that years of under-recruitment had left the utility dangerously short of technical staff, hampering its ability to maintain reliable power supply.

In Badin, workers gathered at Allah Wala Chowk after marching from the Wapda Divisional Office. Union leaders accused the government of preparing to hand national institutions over to a privileged few, and warned that privatisation would push thousands of families into economic hardship. The demonstration concluded peacefully, with participants vowing to widen the protest movement nationally if their demands were ignored.

Across all the rallies, workers voiced a common set of demands: withdrawal of privatisation plans, regularisation of contract employees, clearance of long-pending promotion and allowance cases, and an end to outsourcing of technical posts.

The protests signal mounting pressure on the government as it allegedly pursues a privatisation agenda tied to its ongoing IMF programme.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2026