Tug of war: Union demands referendum over collective bargaining agent

HECLU says it has been bereaved of its right to represent WAPDA employees.

PESHAWAR: Official business at the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) came to a halt on Wednesday as the Hydro Electric Central Labour Union (HECLU) demanded a referendum on who shall be the collective bargaining agent (CBA) of Wapda employees.

Presently, Employees Pegham Union (EPU) is the new CPA. It replaced HECLU after the Islamabad High Court recently ruled in EPU’s favour.

Addressing a gathering at Wapda House, HECLU’s Central Chairman Gohar Taj said: “The union is protesting against EPU as the new CBA.”

“Let’s hold a referendum across the country to see who is qualified to be the CBA.”

Thousands of Pesco employees from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa participated in the convention along with HECLU’s office bearers from Lahore and Quetta.

During his address, HECLU’s provincial chairman Mohammad Iqbal raised issues which were unresolved as yet. He said the 40% allowance for Pesco employees serving in sensitive areas was not being paid to employees of Tribal Electric Supply Corporation (Tesco) serving in the tribal belt.



He also complained that the 33% quota for jobs reserved for the offspring of retired or deceased Pesco employees was not being adhered to.

“We will shut down power stations if our demands are not met,” warned one member of the union, Farid Khan.

EPU’s Central Chairman Arbab Iltaf, however, accused HECLU of being a non-registered union and said it was illegally holding public gatherings. “The authorities have clear instructions that no one can hold public meetings on the Wapda House premises.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2013.