Job security: FESCO employees protest privatisation

FAISALABAD:

Scores of employees of Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) on Friday staged a protest demonstration against proposed privatisation of the company.

The protesters, carrying placards and banners, gathered at Canal Road and staged a sit-in in front of FESCO headquarters. They also blocked Canal Road, suspending traffic for several hours.

Addressing the protesters, FESCO Pegham Union president Sirajuddin Saqib said the FESCO was a profit-making company and had the lowest line losses. He said the company had a history of good recovery and was technically and financially sound.

He said FESCO’s assets would be sold off cheaply and hundreds of employees would be laid off if the company was privatised. He said the government wanted to privatise the FESCO under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said FESCO employees would not accept privatisation of the company and would protest against the government if it pursued the process without taking them into confidence.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2015.