KESC blues: ANP calls strike today
'Management must solve their issues through dialogue' says ANP leader.
KARACHI:
The Awami National Party (ANP) has called a strike on Friday against the Karachi Electric Supply Company’s (KESC) management.
The ANP’s Shahi Syed spoke to the press at Mardan House on Thursday. He appealed to residents, traders and transporters to remain at home and observe the strike call to show support for the 4,000 KESC workers, who were earlier sacked by the management.
Shah said the decision to go on strike was made at the all parties’ conference on May 31, if KESC did not address the workers’ problems. “We advise the management to solve the workers’ issues. We are observing the strike just because KESC is not solving the workers problems through dialogue but is using force.”
Syed demanded that they KESC stop the increasing load-shedding, power breakdowns and unfair billing across the city. “Otherwise we will be forced to appeal to the people to stop paying their bills until these problems are solved.”
According to Syed, the government should take responsibility for the losses faced by traders and industrialists because of unscheduled load-shedding. He blamed the Sindh chief minister and governor for the load-shedding problems.
Leaders from several political parties and KESC People Workers Union chairman Ayaz Mengal attended the press conference and expressed their support for the strike call.
“When KESC was under government control, it supported Sindh at the time of crises but now that it is privatised, it is suffering losses and firing its employees,” said the Punjabi Pakhtoon Ittehad (PPI) leader, Ayub Awan.
“The strike is being observed to save the labourers, the country and the economy,” said Pakistan Peoples Party’s Zafar Baloch. “If the KESC can give millions of rupees in salaries to office workers, then why can’t they give the workers’ their rights,” he added.
Sindh Dost Ittehad’s chairman, Zafar Jhandir, also criticised the KESC’s privatisation and said KESC owe Rs241 billion to several organisations.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2011.
The Awami National Party (ANP) has called a strike on Friday against the Karachi Electric Supply Company’s (KESC) management.
The ANP’s Shahi Syed spoke to the press at Mardan House on Thursday. He appealed to residents, traders and transporters to remain at home and observe the strike call to show support for the 4,000 KESC workers, who were earlier sacked by the management.
Shah said the decision to go on strike was made at the all parties’ conference on May 31, if KESC did not address the workers’ problems. “We advise the management to solve the workers’ issues. We are observing the strike just because KESC is not solving the workers problems through dialogue but is using force.”
Syed demanded that they KESC stop the increasing load-shedding, power breakdowns and unfair billing across the city. “Otherwise we will be forced to appeal to the people to stop paying their bills until these problems are solved.”
According to Syed, the government should take responsibility for the losses faced by traders and industrialists because of unscheduled load-shedding. He blamed the Sindh chief minister and governor for the load-shedding problems.
Leaders from several political parties and KESC People Workers Union chairman Ayaz Mengal attended the press conference and expressed their support for the strike call.
“When KESC was under government control, it supported Sindh at the time of crises but now that it is privatised, it is suffering losses and firing its employees,” said the Punjabi Pakhtoon Ittehad (PPI) leader, Ayub Awan.
“The strike is being observed to save the labourers, the country and the economy,” said Pakistan Peoples Party’s Zafar Baloch. “If the KESC can give millions of rupees in salaries to office workers, then why can’t they give the workers’ their rights,” he added.
Sindh Dost Ittehad’s chairman, Zafar Jhandir, also criticised the KESC’s privatisation and said KESC owe Rs241 billion to several organisations.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2011.