Protest rally against privatisation of Guddu Thermal Power House

LAHORE:Electricity/Wapda workers held protest rally under the aegis of All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union (CBA) on Wednesday against the proposed privatisation of profitable Guddu Thermal Power House and 11KV feeder of distribution.

A large number of workers carrying national flags and banners in support of their demands participated in the rally. General Secretary of the union Khurshid Ahmad, who led the rally urged the Prime Minister to intervene and redress the legitimate demands of the workers and not privatise the national assets Guddu Thermal Power House and 11KV feeder of distribution electricity companies in the wider public interest.

He said that the privatisation of Karachi Electricity Company and private Rawalpindi and Multan Companies have already miserably failed instead of increasing their productivity, he said and urged all the political parties and policy makers to adopt self-reliance policies to rid the nation of heavy foreign debts, abject poverty, aggravating unemployment and irrational gap between the rich and poor in the country.

The government has not paid heed to the outcry of electricity workers who have been registering their complaint of serious shortage of electricity distribution staff that has taken lives of 66 members of line staff only in 2022. While the workers are performing duty at the risk of their lives, they are finding it hard to keep their body and soul together in the face of constant increase in prices of essential commodities of daily use.

Rana Shakoor, Haji Younas, Osama Tariq, Hassan Munir Bhatti, Nosher Khan, Naveed Ashiq Dogar, Ch. Maqsood, Javed Shah, Muzaffar Mateen, Malik Zahoor, Haji Liaqat, Zulqarnain Shah, Hassan Munir Bhatti and other representatives of the union, also addressed the rally. They demanded from the government to hold dialogue with the workers to resolve their just demands or they would be compelled to launch countrywide protest.