LAHORE, Dec 7: Pakistan Telecom employees on Thursday observed a countrywide protest day against the delay in implementation of the agreement on their charter of demands and preparations for downsizing.

Employees held meetings and staged demonstrations to express resentment against over two months delay in implementation of the agreement on charter of demands signed by the management with the Pakistan Telecom Union (CBA) and its reluctance to implement it despite directions by the National Industrial Relations Commission.

They staged the demonstration outside the Lahore Press Club on the call of the union. They were also carrying banners and placards on which they had written demands for implementation of the agreement, reinstatement of dismissed employees and discontinuation of preparations for further retrenchments.

Speaking on the occasion, union leaders Rana Mohammad Tahir, Mohammad Saleem Malik, Hasan Mohammad Rana and Qayyum Jutt said that the PTCL management had not only refused to reinstate around 2,500 employees terminated a few months back but had also thrown more employees out of jobs in Quetta recently. More employees were being forced to sign survey forms for further retrenchments.

Union leaders said the PTCL should implement agreement on charter of demands and desist from throwing employees out of jobs because it was running in profit.

They said the union central council would take a decision about the future course of action for the acceptance of demands in its meeting on the death anniversary of Rana Abdul Majid.

LPG import: The LPG Distributors Association has hailed the abolition of duty on import of liquefied petroleum gas and demanded restoration of base price of Rs17,000 per ton for providing further relief to consumers.

Welcoming the decision of the National Coordination Committee to allow duty free import of LPG, association chairman Irfan Khokhar and provincial and district presidents said in a joint statement that it would help end monopoly of country’s producers OGDC, PPL, PARCO and JJVL on marketing of the commodity and facilitate bringing down the prices as a result of competition with the imported gas.

They said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz should also get the unjustified increase of Rs9,203.75 per ton withdrawn by local producers for providing further relief to consumers through restoration of base price of Rs17,000 per ton.