Hazardous work: LESCO workers demand safer working conditions

LAHORE: The All Pakistan Hydro Electric Workers’ Union organised a protest rally on Thursday to highlight the hazards linemen face.

Dozens of LESCO workers marched from Bakhtiar Labour Hall on Nisbet Road to Lakshmi Chowk. Union general secretary Khurshid Ahmad said that over 200 linemen had lost their lives in work-related accidents in the past few years due to unsafe working conditions. “In the past week alone, six linemen have been killed in Peshawar, Shakargarh, Sukkur and Lahore,” he said.

He said that there was a shortage of linemen in electric supply companies. “There has been a ban on the recruitment of new linemen for the past few years. The federal and provincial governments should ensure the enforcement of safety regulations. Linemen should be provided modern safety equipment,” he said.

He urged linemen to refuse to work in unsafe conditions without proper safety gear.

He urged the government to provide free education and [later] jobs to children of linemen who had lost their lives in the line of duty.

Union leaders Haji Muhammad Younas, Rana Shakoor, Sajid Kazmi, Chaudhry Maqsood, Rana Akram, Syed Zulqarnain Shah and Osama Tariq also addressed the rally.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2015.