KESC labour union has given a 10-day ultimatum to the management to implement the agreement brokered on July 26 and warned of re-launching massive protest campaign in case of defiance. A meeting of KESC Mazdoor Ittehad was held at PMA House on Wednesday wherein it was unanimously decided to press the management to implement the agreement in letter and spirit and if it fails to do so, the workers would re-launch a protest drive on massive scale.
KESC CBA Union leader Ikhlaq Ahmed told Business Recorder that the union had given management a 10-day deadline to review its stance. He lamented that the power utility has still been terminating workers from its services without any reason. He condemned the attitude of the management of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) for not fulfilling provisions of the July 26 agreement with the KESC workers, who have been awaiting a proper release of their withheld salaries of the previous three months.
He said the KESC labourers would continue with their protest movement under the banner KESC Mazdoor Ittehad till their withheld salaries for the previous four months have been fully released and the surplus staff of the utility, who did not avail itself of the voluntary retirement programme, is absorbed into the organisation with full restoration of their services.
He said that non-release of outstanding salaries of four months to 4,000 workers is tantamount to gross violation of the provisions of the agreement by the management of the utility. He denounced that due to the non-co-operative stance of the management, the dispute resolution committee, constituted in light of the July 26 agreement, has yet to be formed.
Shareholders of KESC also took exception on the defiant attitude of management towards workers, saying KESC has come under a debt of Rs 175 billion within just a span of three years. Chaudhry Mazhar Ali, General Secretary KESC shareholders' Association laid emphasis that it has been first time in the history of KESC that none of the engineers has been made the head of three technical departments including generation, transmission and distribution.
He lamented the incumbent management for paying half million rupees as one month salary to the elected directors of the company without approving a resolution from the General Body as required under "Companies Act 1984". He alleged that eight directors of the company are permanent residents of a foreign country (in the Middle East) who remains out of country for two days a week that reflects their apathy in streamlining affairs of the power utility.
Chaudhary Mazhar also regretted that KESC prompted arrest of their more than 20 employees including its CBA union chairman over different charges. "Such a hostile policy towards workers has never been adopted by any management of the KESC in its history," he added.