Labor Leaders Demand Restoration of Unions and Addressing Workers’ Issues in Quetta Ceremony
By our Reporter
Quetta:The oath-taking ceremony of the zonal, divisional, sub-divisional, and sub-zonal officials of the All Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electric Workers Union (CBA) was held at Darbar Hall, Quetta. Thousands of workers, along with leaders from the Balochistan Labour Federation, National Labour Federation, and All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions affiliated unions, participated in the ceremony. The central General Secretary, Khurshid Ahmed, administered the oath to the newly elected officials.
In their addresses, union and labor organization leaders, including Khurshid Ahmed, Muhammad Ramzan Achakzai, Gohar Taj, Khan Zaman, Arshad Yousafzai, Abdul Hai, Abdul Baqi Lehri, Muhammad Yar Alizai, Syed Agha Muhammad, Malik Asif Awan, and Election Committee Chairman Malik Iftikhar Ahmed, emphasized the significance of democratic processes in leadership selection. They highlighted that fair and transparent elections of zonal, divisional, sub-divisional, and sub-zonal officials demonstrate the union’s commitment to democratic principles, ensuring leaders and workers stand together to resolve legitimate issues.
Speakers pointed out that the current coalition government in the province, led by the Pakistan People’s Party, should immediately restore all 62 unions. They demanded that employees of various authorities, including WASA, BDA, QDA, BED, and others, be exempted from the Civil Servant Act, and their unions be reinstated. They also urged the recognition of unionization rights under Article 17 of the Constitution in all remaining public institutions.
The leaders called on the Chief Minister of Balochistan to address the workers’ agenda and resolve their issues through dialogue. They criticized the elite of the country for the destruction of the power sector, citing agreements with IPPs under the IMF and World Bank’s directives since 1992, which have resulted in exorbitant electricity prices. They urged policymakers to free the power sector from political influence and return it to WAPDA Authority control.
Furthermore, they demanded the recognition of laborers’ constitutional and legal rights, security for coal mine workers, compensation up to 5 million rupees, protection of public lives, disarmament of the province, and transparency of the recent PSDP district and tehsil development funds by publishing them on the website. They also called for an end to privatization, reduction in prices of petroleum products, electricity, gas, and essential commodities, reversal of excessive tax deductions from government employees’ salaries, and resolution of public issues
