USC employees decide to go ahead with protest

ISLAMABAD: The Utility Stores Corporation (USC) employees Tuesday refused to call off their sit-in and strongly rejected the verbal statement of Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs Naeemul Haque about acceptance of all of their demands.

The sit-in entered the third day on Tuesday and the employees decided to go ahead until a written notification of acceptance of all demands by the government.

The federal secretary industries also failed to convince the protesters to end their sit-in.

The secretary told them that he did not have powers to issue a written notification of acceptance of their demands.

It was expected that Adviser to Prime Minister Abdul Razzaq Dawood would talk to the protesters at 10:00am on Wednesday (today).

The All Pakistan Utility Stores Corporation Union President Rafiq Qureshi and Senior Vice President Malik Muhammad Ameer told The News that they will remain at the D-Chowk until acceptance of their demands.

“We can’t rely on the statement of Naeemul Haque about acceptance of our demands. We wanted this statement in ‘written’ but he refused. How can we call off sit-in with a verbal statement?” Ameer asked.

He said the government was trying to befool them through verbal consolations.

He said the secretary industries had told them that he did not have powers to issue written orders about acceptance of their demands.

“We have installed tents (camps) here at the D-Chowk to prolong our sit-in till acceptance of our demands in written. We will march towards the Parliament House to stage sit-in there on Wednesday (today),” they warned.

The USC employees have been protesting against an anticipated privatisation of the corporation and in favour of their demands.

“We have not been paid our wages for two years, while more than 5,000 contract employees and daily wagers are also not being regularised,” said one of the protesters, adding that if the government paid Rs25 billion dues of the corporation, it could rise on its feet.

The employees also blamed Adviser to PM Abdul Razzaq Dawood for depriving employees of their jobs as commerce minister in the Musharraf era. They termed him an anti-labour person.

Naeemul Haq visited D-Chowk to talk to the protesting employees and agreed that their demands were just. However, he rejected the impression as baseless that the corporation was being sold to the PM’s friend Zulqurnain Khan.

He also announced that the government would provide houses to all employees of the corporation from the PM’s five million homes scheme.

“Daily wagers and contract employees will soon be made permanent and dues of the corporation will be written off,” assured the PTI leader, asking the protesters to end their sit-in.

He told the protesters that the PM’s adviser on industries was returning later that day after which all their concerns would be addressed but the employees refused to end their sit-in, saying they were being offered nothing but a lollipop.

Meanwhile, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, spokesman for Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said PM Imran Khan's tsunami had started removing people from their jobs.

He said the PPP strongly condemned anti-labor policies of PTI government and will resist any effort to deprive the USC employees of their jobs.

He said the government had no policy for betterment of the people of Pakistan.

The utility stores are a source of relief to the people facing economic hardships. The stores were started by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for providing daily use items to the poor at reduced rates and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had extended this facility to many new areas. Similar policy continued during the tenure of PPP under Asif Ali Zardari," he said.