ID :
167494
Fri, 03/11/2011 - 13:24
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http://m.oananews.org//node/167494
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Employees protest against plan to privatize Pakistan Post
Islamabad, March 10, 2011 (PPI): Hundreds of employees of Pakistan Post took out a protest rally and staged a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Postal Services in G-8 on Thursday to demand an unequivocal policy announcement by the Privatisation Commission and the Ministry of Postal Services rescinding plans to privatize Pakistan Post.
Postal workers from across the twin cities participated in the protest on the call of the Postal Action Committee which had organized similar demonstrations and sit-ins in major cities across the country. Also present on the occasion were representatives of other public sector trade unions along and leaders of the Anti-Privatisation Alliance (APA).
Speaking on the occasion Postal Action Committee leader Moazzam Ali Zahid said that the workers of Pakistan Post have been on the roads for at least 3 months exercising their democratic right to protest and despite the assurances of even the new Minister for Postal Services Sardar Al-Haaj Mohammad Umar Gorage, there has not yet been any formal announcement that can address the suspicions of more than 40,000 workers of Pakistan Post.
He said that under such circumstances industrial relations are bound to suffer because workers feel a genuine lack of trust in the administration which is not willing to come straight on its intentions regarding the organisation’s future.
Speaking on the occasion Worker’s Party Pakistan leader Aasim Sajjad said that the curse of privatization continues to blight the ordinary working people in Pakistan and if the present orthodoxy continues uninterrupted then there will be a day when the air we breathe will also be bought and sold in a market. He said that there can be no logical reason to privatize Pakistan Post, and other government departments, except for the fact that the international financial institutions (IFIs) want the government of Pakistan to meet its suffocating debt burden of close to US$3 billion per annum.
He said that in such a situation it is no wonder that the government is increasing the prices of basic utilities and food items to raise revenue, which proves further that real democracy will remain conspicuous by its absence so long as Pakistan remains trapped within an imperialist economic order.
The protestors warned that their campaign would intensify in coming weeks if the relevant authorities did not clarify their intentions once and for all. They also said that the government and the administration of Pakistan Post would be held responsible for all losses accruing to the organization, as happened in the case of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), because ultimately it is the responsibility of those in positions of power to take workers into confidence about major decisions such as privatization.
Postal workers from across the twin cities participated in the protest on the call of the Postal Action Committee which had organized similar demonstrations and sit-ins in major cities across the country. Also present on the occasion were representatives of other public sector trade unions along and leaders of the Anti-Privatisation Alliance (APA).
Speaking on the occasion Postal Action Committee leader Moazzam Ali Zahid said that the workers of Pakistan Post have been on the roads for at least 3 months exercising their democratic right to protest and despite the assurances of even the new Minister for Postal Services Sardar Al-Haaj Mohammad Umar Gorage, there has not yet been any formal announcement that can address the suspicions of more than 40,000 workers of Pakistan Post.
He said that under such circumstances industrial relations are bound to suffer because workers feel a genuine lack of trust in the administration which is not willing to come straight on its intentions regarding the organisation’s future.
Speaking on the occasion Worker’s Party Pakistan leader Aasim Sajjad said that the curse of privatization continues to blight the ordinary working people in Pakistan and if the present orthodoxy continues uninterrupted then there will be a day when the air we breathe will also be bought and sold in a market. He said that there can be no logical reason to privatize Pakistan Post, and other government departments, except for the fact that the international financial institutions (IFIs) want the government of Pakistan to meet its suffocating debt burden of close to US$3 billion per annum.
He said that in such a situation it is no wonder that the government is increasing the prices of basic utilities and food items to raise revenue, which proves further that real democracy will remain conspicuous by its absence so long as Pakistan remains trapped within an imperialist economic order.
The protestors warned that their campaign would intensify in coming weeks if the relevant authorities did not clarify their intentions once and for all. They also said that the government and the administration of Pakistan Post would be held responsible for all losses accruing to the organization, as happened in the case of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), because ultimately it is the responsibility of those in positions of power to take workers into confidence about major decisions such as privatization.
