Bodies formed to help resolve dispute: government takes serious note of retrenchment of KESC employees

A meeting of the senior party leadership held on Friday night at the Aiwan-e-sadr took a serious note of the retrenchment of over 4000 employees of KESC. It expressed the view that the sacking of employees on such a large scale was against the spirit of the agreement under which KESC was privatised.
The meeting appointed a three-member committee comprising Raja Pervaz Ashraf, Minister for water & Power, Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Minister for Labour & Manpower and Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Advisor to PM to help resolve the issue in consultation with the provincial Chief Minister and the governor. "The Party reiterated its commitment to standby the working classes. It recalled the reinstatement of sacked employees in the recent past and said that the party will not abandon the labour and the working classes," according to a press release.
The meeting was presided over by Co Chairman President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusaf Raza Gilani and attended by Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, leader of the House in senate, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Minister for Commerce, Chaudhary Ahmad Mukhtar, minister for defence, Mr Nazar Mohammed Gondal, Minister for Food & Agriculture, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator A. Rehman Malik, Minister for Interior, Mr Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Information and Broadcasting ,Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Minister for Labour & Manpower, Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Dr Babar Awan, Minister for Law & Justice, Raja Pervaz Ashraf, Minister for water & Power , Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Advisor to PM, Senator Jahangir Badar, Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, , Ms Rukhsana Bangash, MNA, Ms Fauzia Wahab, MNA, Ms Fauzia Habib, MNA and Spokesperson to the President Mr Farhatullah Babar. The meeting is still continuing.
App adds: Earlier, Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul- Ebad Khan on Friday held a meeting with the management of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) at the Governor House in Karachi. An official statement said that the meeting was informed that in consultation with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, an eight-member committee consisting of government representatives had been formed. It said that the committee would submit its recommendations to the provincial government in three days on matters pertaining to laid off employees of the KESC and protection of the interests of stakeholders.
The Governor asked the KESC management to put off the decision to lay off employees till coming to fore of the recommendations of the committee. He also directed that during the period there should not be any hurdle in the supply of electricity to the people. The Governor hoped that the matters would be resolved through dialogue. He further hoped that all the sides would ensure the respect of law.