RAWALPINDI, Nov 16: Workers and labourers’ representatives at a seminar on Sunday expressed their outrage over the proposed privatization of national resources, saying that outsourcing of government organisations would put burden on the consumers and render thousands of workers jobless.

The speakers said the past experience of privatization of national assets had not achieved the desired results, arguing that there was still darkness in Karachi despite outsourcing of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC).

They said the proposed privatization of Qadirpur Gas Field would render thousands of workers jobless, besides resulting in tariff increase for the consumers and warned that the labourers would resist outsourcing at all costs.

Those who spoke included Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) President Zafarullah Niazi, Labour Party Pakistan General-Secretary Nisar Shah and Railway Workers Union (RWU) President Sabir Hussain. The seminar was organised by Labour Education Foundation.

The speakers criticised the government for devising economic policies under the influence of new liberalism and globalisation and feared that the policies would largely affect the labour class.

In his speech, Zafarullah Niazi said over 1,200 people had committed suicide due to poverty in the last one year while majority of parents were compelled to sell their children due to the increasing prices.

“We must put an end to the wrong policies by exerting pressure on the authorities to stop privatization of national assets. A labour must be loyal to his organisation and should come out of his house against the proposed outsourcing of any unit,” he added.

The speakers said the loan from International Monetary Fund (IMF) would further increase taxes on consumers, raising eyebrows over the utilisation of previous loans taken from the IMF.

“Who knows that the fund taken from the IMF would be spent on the welfare of people? Is there anybody who could ask the authorities to use the fund in the larger interest of the people? Are people responsible for the sinking economy of the country,” Action Committee OGDC President Mohammed Haneef said.

The speakers demanded of the government to stop privatization of Qadirpur Gas Field and take over the control of all national assets that have been privatized during the tenure of previous governments. Some speakers went on to say that the outsourcing of national assets was a conspiracy against the disintegration of the country, adding that the government was already losing its writ in many parts of the country. —Inamullah Khattak