Making demands: PESCO offices remain locked across province

Employees go on strike against cancellation of bonus salary.

KARAK/ HANGU/ PESHAWAR/ BANNU: Offices of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) remained shut across the province on Friday as employees went on strike demanding bonus salaries that were reportedly cancelled by the management.

Peshawar

Agitated workers staged a sit-in outside WAPDA House in the city and shouted slogans against the utility’s management and Board of Directors (BoD).

General Secretary of All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union’s provincial chapter, Mustajab Mazduryar, told The Express Tribune the Pesco BoD has cancelled a bonus salary for its employees while workers of the rest of the country’s Power Distribution Companies have received the said salary. Consumers suffered as work at the Pesco office remained suspended for hours until the management stepped in and negotiated with the protesting workers. “The management has assured us that our reservations will be addressed within a week so we ended the strike and opened the offices,” said Mazduryar.

Karak

Pesco offices in Karak also remained locked as members of the All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union district chapter observed a strike in favour of their demands.

While addressing the media, Pir Gul Zahir Shad, the union’s district chairman, said the government should fulfil its promise of giving a bonus salary and promotion to all employees.

He claimed the government had made these announcements earlier but is showing laxity now. “Our protest will continue till our demands are met,” Shad said.

Hangu

Pesco employees from Hangu district also kept their offices locked against the cancellation of bonus salaries. While addressing protesting workers, the hydro workers union district chairman Hayat Bangash said Wapda had promised bonus and promotions to employees but in a recent meeting the Pesco BoD rejected the decision. Bangash added this was an injustice with the employees and they will not accept their salaries for February in protest.

Bannu

Similar protests were held in Bannu by a large number of Pesco employees. The Hydro Electric Workers Union Bannu Circle chairman condemned the BoD’s decision, saying the strike will continue till they get their due rights.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2015.