At least seven protesting employees of the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), who have been put in the power utility’s surplus pool, were injured on Monday when the utility’s security guards opened fire on them. According to witnesses, a large number of KESC workers, who were restored by the utility’s management by putting them in the surplus pool, gathered at the KESC head office in Gizri to lodge their protest against non-provision of salaries.
The protesters also staged a sit-in outside the office; however, when they tried entering the office to talk to higher authorities for resolution of their issues, the security guards deputed at the main gate opened fire on them, leaving seven people injured.
Following the incident, the enraged protesters pelted passing vehicles, including those belonging to the KESC, with stones and torched a police van. Later, the police used tear gas to disperse the protesters and also blocked the linking roads to avoid further loss of property. The protesting employees told Pakistan Today that the security guards of the utility had opened fire on them even though they were peacefully asking for their basic rights.
They said that the KESC management was not following the written agreement made on July 26 at the Sindh Governor’s House that the reinstated employees would be paid three months’ salary within a few days. However, they added, the utility’s management is now dillydallying instead of releasing the salaries, causing severe financial crises for the salaried workers. The protesters said that they would continue their protest until the KESC management provides them their salaries.
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