USC employees protest against closure of stores

Islamabad:A large number of employees of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) staged a protest demonstration, held ‘sit-in’ and ready to proceed towards ‘Red Zone’ here on Monday.

The protest demonstration is in response to the government’s decision to wind up USC operations nationwide. It’s worth mentioning here that negotiation in between USC employees and government has become failed till the filing of this report. On the other hand, capital administration has blocked the ‘Red Zone’ with containers along with deployment of a large number of police personnel.

Malik Muhammad Azhar, vice president of the All Pakistan Utility Stores Corporation Employees Union told ‘The News’ that more than 12,000 employees have reached in Islamabad. The Islamabad administration has installed barricades and wires to stop us but we will reach ‘Red Zone’ at any cost, he said. The angry employees raised slogans against government and demanded to take back decision regarding to close down USC. Large number of employees, men and women, will be unemployed with closing down the department. The aggrieved employees surrounded the USC head office and held a ‘sit-in’. Majority of caravans of employees are traveling from various provinces to reach the capital. The USC is the only source of affordable basic commodities for the public, offering prices lower than those found in open market. However, the government recently eliminated all subsidies on essential items, effectively ending this lifeline for the poor. Business tycoons, long opposed to USC, appear to have succeeded in their efforts, leading to the government's announcement to close the department.