HYDERABAD:
Responding to a call for a three-day strike from the All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union (CBA), power utility workers in Sindh started a protest against privatisation by holding public meetings, demonstrations and rallies in almost all cities of the province on Tuesday.
In Hyderabad, the protesting workers assembled at the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) headquarters along with leader CBA chief Abdul Latif Nizamani.
Hesco Officers Association leaders and members also joined in the protest.
Hundreds of workers along with their officers reached Sukkur to hold a noisy demonstration against moves to privatise power utility organisations.
Speaking to the protestors, Mr. Nizamani said that CBA had staged the biggest sit-in in Islamabad on Feb 18 against privatisation of national assets.
He claimed that the government was not ready to listen to the workers and was following dictations of World Bank and IMF. He further added that he knew workers would fight their case till the very end.
Employees of Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO) locked their workplaces at Sukkur, old Sukkur, Rohri, Pannu Aqil, Salehpat, Gambat, Setharja, Piryaloi, Pir Jo Goth, Ranipur, Kotdiji, Khairpur, Luqman, Ghotki, Khanpur Mahar, Mirpur Mathelo, Daharki, Ubauro and other towns to join in the demonstration.
Power utility workers in Umerkot, Mirpurkhas and Dadu district also took out rallies and held demonstrations after stay-away from their duties on the call of Wapda CBA.
In Larkana, protesting workers pitched a camp in the old power house, where labour leaders spoke to them and vowed to resist all moves to privatise power utilities.
Protest rallies and demonstrations were also held in Badin, Tando Bago, Talhar, Matli, Golarchi, Pangrio and Tando Ghulam Ali to condemn the government’s privatisation policy.
