Government officials put off KESC workers for another week

Protesters say that they will return to protest next Friday too if their demands are not met.


Our Correspondent January 20, 2012

KARACHI: Once again, government officials assured the workers of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) that their problems and demands will be looked into and solved this week. But the workers don’t seem ready to take the bait and have warned that if it did not happen they will not only return to Governor House but also protest in front of Chief Minister House.

The KESC workers gathered at Fountain Chowk on Friday evening and then marched towards Governor House. On their way, they were met by the police who were ready to tackle the workers with batons and a water canon.

The workers were baton charged when they tried to lead the protest to Governor House. There seemed to be around 500 to 700 people but the protest leaders claimed that there were up to 2,500 employees.

The governor was not present but the officials inside Governor House called a few KESC employees in for negotiations. They assured them that their issues will be looked into once again and they will try and solve them this week.

“We will protest here again if our demands are not met,” said the general secretary of Peoples Workers Union, Latif Mughal. “If the governor does not take steps to implement the management-workers agreement, then we will launch a movement against him.”

The chairman of the labour union, Mohammad Akhlaq Khan, said that 11 KESC employees while on duty in 2011 but the management did not even acknowledge their deaths.

According to him, even the workers who had accepted the voluntary separation scheme by the KESC management were not given the golden handshake as promised. Adding that the company was still kicking out people and the ones still working were not being paid or were being suspended for no reason.

Imran, a KESC lineman, said that it had been a year since he received his last salary. He said that the government did not seem to be serious in solving their problems.

“Since we are a public utility, our issues also affect the public,” he said. “Solving our problems will help in resolving the issues of the people as well.”

Another employee, Mohammad Yaqoob, said that even they were tired of protesting again and again with no results. “But the government feels no shame in calling us here again and beating us up,” he said. “We are not only going through a financial crunch, but are under mental and physical strain as well.” But, Yaqoob said, it only made them more determined to pursue their demands. “Even our neighbours and relatives sympathise with us and sometimes join us in our protests.”

The works began protesting in the early 2011 when more than 4,000 workers were sacked by the KESC management. While the rest of the employees complain that they haven’t been paid or receiving any benefits. According to Khan, there were 7,000 permanent employees and 11,000 contract employees.

Khan said that they had been assured that negotiations will begin and the workers-management agreement, signed on July 26, 2011 will be implemented but there has been no progress so far.

There was a traffic jam at Shahrae Faisal, I I Chundrigar Raod and MA Jinnah Road because of the hour-long protest.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ