KARACHI, July 25: The ongoing tug of war between workers and management of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd has affected hundreds of thousands of phone subscribers and internet users besides rendering inoperative several automated-teller machines of banks in the city.

Almost 10 per cent of the total one million phones remained out of order as PTCL workers continued their strike on Friday, it has been reliably learnt. The workers are demanding regularisation of daily-wagers and payment of increments that the government had announced in 2005 and 2008.

The personnel of law-enforcement agencies are deputed at all sensitive PTCL installations to protect them against any designs of anti-social elements, who might take advantage of the present turmoil.

Highly placed sources said the number of out-of-order telephones was swelling with each passing day as the company failed to fill a majority of the positions which fell vacant after the retirement of 30,000 employees, most of them low-grade staffers, some time ago. The situation left about 25,000 regular workers in the company while the present number of daily-wagers was about 10,000, the sources said, adding that all the workers were on strike for the last few days.

About the work affected by the protest, the sources said that every month approximately 50,000 telephone subscribers obtained duplicate bills from the PTCL offices, but the company could not issue the copies of phone bills as no work was carried out during the past many days. Over 50,000 subscribers who failed to get the duplicate bills would not be in a position to make payment within the due date, the sources said, adding that this way the subscribers would be forced to pay the bill with a surcharge.

Hundreds of ATMs and on-line operations of several banks in the city have been out of work due to inoperative phone lines as the PTCL with a meagre workforce could not attend to all complaints.

The sources said that the PTCL, which earned more than Rs30 billion profit when it was in the public sector, could hardly make Rs16 billion profit last year. One of the reasons was the hiring of some officials on high salaries, the sources said, citing Rs4 million plus and stay at a five-star hotel in Islamabad every month as a few perks being offered to a top official.

A large number of phone subscribers, meanwhile, called the newspaper offices to register their grievances. They complained that their telephones remained out of order for over a week and despite repeated complaints no PTCL lineman or worker turned up to rectify the fault and restore the telephone lines. Many of the callers said that at the time of the company’s privatisation they felt that the quality of service provided by the PTCL would improve, though what actually happened was exactly the opposite. The private management only seemed to siphon off the profits and was least concered about the grievances of subscribers, a furious complainant observed.

Responding to Dawn queries, leader of the Pakistan Telecommunications Staff Union Sabir Hussain said that PTCL workers observed a complete strike in the city to press their demands. The raise and benefits announced by the government in 2005 and 2008 was one of the few basic demands of the workers, he said. Besides, he said all the daily-wagers be regularised and more employees be recruited as over 30,000 had opted for retirement some time back and the PTCL staffers with current strength were not able to respond to all the complaints of the subscribers owing to which the telephones remained out of order for longer durations.

Mr Hussain criticised an anti-workers move by the management, saying that a conspiracy was being hatched to create a rift among the rank and file of the protesting workers. He urged all the workers to demonstrate unity to foil all such conspiracies aimed at suppressing their voice.

He said that the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) had initiated the proceedings to organise a referendum in the organisation. The first meeting of the series had been arranged on Thursday in Lahore, he said, adding that the next was to be held in a few days. He urged the workers to forge unity and never desist from their just demands.

He said that almost negligible investment had been made by the private party in the PTCL after the privatization owing to which the service deteriorated gradually. He said that though the private party had only purchased 26 per cent or the PTCL while the rest was with the public and the government the interests of the majority shareholders were not being protected as the management was taking the decisions to its benefit.

Though repeated attempts were made to get a version of the company’s management, PTCL spokesman Ali Kader Jillani did not attend a single call.