Utility Stores’ employees demand regularisation

Protesters give 24-hour ultimatum, threaten sin-in outside parliament

ISLAMABAD: The employees of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) held a demonstration outside the head office of the corporation for the acceptance of their demands including regularisation of daily-wage and contractual employees.

The protesting employees gave the government 24 hours to accept their demands, after which the employees said they would stage a sit-in in front of the parliament.

Along with pressing the government to issue the notification regarding the regularisation of daily-wage and contract employees, the demands of the workers’ union include the acceptance of Rs14 billion bailout package for USC and promotion of all sales and warehouse staff.

They said that it has been a month since they Special Assistant to the PM Naeemul Haq reassured them of the fulfilment of the government’s promise regarding their demands. The USC employees had ended their sit-in in Islamabad last November upon that promise. They said that if their demands are not accepted, they would stage a sit-in again at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.

Those gathered outside the USC head office said that the administration had sought 24 hours in response to their demand.

Syed Arif Hussain Shah, who is the chairman of the countrywide workers’ union, said that if the demands were not accepted, members of the union would head to the parliament and stay there until the acceptance of their demands.

He also reminded the government of its past promises and criticised the USC chairman for failing to protect the interests of the corporation.