Labour leaders lend support to Wapda workers’ campaign

Karachi
The Sindh Labour Solidarity Committee, a representative body of trade unions and labour support organisations of the province, has rejected the government’s plan for privatisation of civic bodies and has termed it to be against the interest of workers.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, members of the committee announced to put their weight behind a campaign initiated by All Pakistan Wapda Hydro-Electric Workers’ union against the privatisation of Water and Power Development Authority and other public sector organisations.
The speakers included Habibuddin Junaidi of All Pakistan Trade Union Organisation, Shafiq Ghauri of Sindh Labour Federation, Malik Lal Khan of Trade Union Defence Campaign, Mehboobur Rehman of All Pakistan WAPDA Hydro-Electric Workers Union, Shaikh Majeed of PIA Skyways Union, Muhammad Jafar Khan of Muttahida Labour Union, Jaleel Shah of KKarachi Port Trust Labour Union, Rehana Yasmeen of Hosiery Garments General Workers Union Sindh and Lateef Mughal of Peoples Labour Federation.
They asked the government to included economic and social science experts in its privatisation committee so that the rights of workers were not harmed in the process.
They said in past, the process of privatisation has rendered thousands of workers jobless.
“Privatisation has caused heavy losses to the national exchequer,” said Karamat Ali, the executive director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER).
Citing a research on the growth of institutions which have been privatised, he said the organisations ceased to be profitable once they were privatised and had to be shut down.