Protesting workers lock power company’s office

Oppose appointment of FESCO CEO from private sector, fearing lay-offs.

FAISALABAD: In a bid to resist appointment of a chief executive officer from the private sector, employees of the Faisalabad Electricity Supply Company (Fesco) on Monday locked the regional office for an indefinite period while protesting against the move, fearing it would eventually lead to privatisation of the power utility.

Presenting their demands, they asked the government to pick the CEO from among five chief engineers of the company instead of bringing people from the private sector. They threatened that if the government did not accept their demand, they would cut off power supply to Faisalabad, the third largest city of the country.

They voiced fears that the appointment of CEO from the private sector would be the first step towards privatisation of the company and later workers would be laid off on a large scale.

Hydroelectric Union Regional Secretary Rasheed Ahmad said the employees feared lay-offs after privatisation, adding the next step would be the forced removal of one-third of the workforce.

“Privatisation is not a solution and the government should consider how to overcome energy shortages and provide cheap electricity,” he said.

Bashir Ahmad, an officer in Fesco, asked why the government wanted to destroy the company by turning it into an entity like Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Railways and that too at a time when it had been performing exceptionally well.

Engineers Association President Gazanfer Ali said the government should focus on building new power generation plants based on coal and water resources to protect the people from expensive electricity which included charges like fuel price adjustment and others.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2012.