Non-professionals' appointment: hundreds of Mepco workers stage rally

Hundreds of workers, led by Wapda Hydro-Electric Central Labour Union and Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) Engineers Association leaders, took out a rally from Mepco headquarter to Khanewal Road, here on Monday. Later, they also staged a sit-in in Khanewal against the appointment of non-professionals as the post of chief executives of distribution companies and proposed privatisation of the utility.
The rally was led by Khurshid Ahmed Khan Secretary General of Hydal power Union, Khawaja Auranzeb Siddiqui, Muhammad Ramzan Butt, Nawaz Nadeem Gujjar, Mujahid Pervaiz Chattha, and Javed Iqbal Ghumman. They expressed concern on the interference of Board of Directors into the affairs of distribution companies and election of Chief Executives among the board of directors describing it detrimental to the company.
Protests demonstrations against the privatisation of electricity distribution companies were also held in Multan all major cities of the MEPCO region. The protesting workers in the city warned the government to take back the 'decision of privatisation of public utility' otherwise they would disconnect the electricity of all the VIP feeders across the country. They claimed the government was to privatise the DISCOs on the directions of the international lending agencies - the IMF and World Bank. They, however, pledged that they would not let it happen.
Labour leader Khursheed Ahmed Khan, addressing the workers, said the government had dissolved Pakistan Electric Power Company on the direction of IMF and now it was going to privatise the power distribution companies. "If it happened, no-one could stop the storm of inflation in the country," he claimed. Khursheed said that thousands of the Wapda employees across the country would resist the government's privatisation process. They also protested against the appointment of private sector chief executives with heavy remuneration, surging power tariffs on account of Rental Power Houses and the prevalence of anti-labour legislation curbing fundamental rights of workers and skyrocketing price-hikes and surging rates of unemployment. They condemned the government's energy policies and rejected the appointment of private sector chief executives.
In other cities, more than 130,000 workers observed the 'Protest Day.' Protests were held in Hyderabad, Quetta, Sukkur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Sahiwal, Okara, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Jhang, Attock, Mardan, Swat, Abbottabad, Jhelum, Gujrat, Sialkot and Peshawar. The protesters also protested against abduction of electricity employees. Mepco workers staged rally against proposed privatisation of distribution companies, appointment of non-professionals as chief executives and withdrawal of facility of free electricity for employees, here on Monday.