HYDERABAD, Dec 15: Wapda employees of Jamshoro, Larkana and Kotri powerhouses held a protest demonstration and staged a sit-in on the Press Club Road here on Wednesday against the proposed privatization of powerhouses and for acceptance of their demands.

The protest was held under the banner of the All-Pakistan Powerhouses Administrative Committee, a wing of the Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union.

Reports said such protest demonstrations were also held by Wapda employees of Guddu, Muzaffargarh, Multan, Faisalabad and other hydel and thermal power stations throughout the country.

Speaking on the occasion, union leaders Mohammad Sajan Panhwar, Naveed Ali Abbasi, Basheer Ahmad Chandio, Umer Mirani, Abdul Wahab Shaikh, Hafiz Abdul Sattar and others condemned the proposed privatization of Wapda powerhouses.

They demanded that power generation and hardship allowances and selection grade and move-over of powerhouse employees should be restored and they should be given bonus. They further demanded that free electricity units of non-technical staff should be increased and house acquisition facility for employees be restored.

They announced that a national convention and a protest demonstration would be held at the Guddu Thermal Power Station on Dec 20 to chalk out the future course of action. They appealed to the central leadership of the union to support their demands.

BANGLE INDUSTRY: Sindh National Labour Federation president Rana Mehmood Ali Khan has said 20,000 workers of bangle factories of the district are being deprived of rights given to them under labour laws.