LAHORE: A large number of Wapda workers, under the aegis of All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union (CBA), have protested against the proposed privatisation of distribution companies across the country.
Addressing the protesters, the union leaders said that the government is willing to sell profitable companies of Wapda at the behest of IMF and the World Bank. The protesters sought revamp of Wapda management instead of handing over its control to business tycoons as the experiment of privatising the Karachi Electric Supply Company (now K-Electric) had not borne fruit.
The workers locked all the offices and installations of Lesco after 11am and a majority of them started headed towards the Shimla Pahari near the press club where they staged a sit-in.
Carrying red banners and Pakistan’s flags, the workers chanted slogans against the IMF, the World Bank, feudalism, capitalism and the proposed sell-off of national utilities especially electricity generation and distribution companies.
A resolution passed on the occasion asked the government to allocate sufficient resources to build new hydel and thermal powerhouses in the public sector to overcome the electricity shortfall instead of selling national assets to `private individuals at throwaway prices.’
Presented by Union Secretary General Khurshid Ahmed along with Chairman Yousaf Baloch, Additional General Secretary Osama Tariq, National Bank Employees Union’s Akbar Ali Khan and others, the resolution said that the matter should also be discussed in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) while workers and engineers should be given an opportunity to present their view before any decision in this regard.
