Pakistan privatization brings miseries for consumers

Karachi, May 17, 2011 (PPI): The experiment of privatization in Pakistan has fallen flat, as it has just heaped more miseries on poor masses. The power tariff has risen by 200percent after the privatization of the KESC, breaking the backbone of electricity consumers of Karachi. The government should renationalize the KESC besides more than 300 other privatized entities in Pakistan to stop the loot and plunder of Pakistani masses.

This was demanded by the deputy general secretary of National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) Nasir Mansoor in a statement here. He strongly condemned the sacking of 4500 workers of the KESC by its private management, saying the anti-labour steps would not be tolerated.

He said due to privatizing the KESC in the era of last military dictators not only millions of Karachiites have been suffering from the curse of load shedding, but thousands of the KESC workers are forced to take to streets and observe hunger strike against the anti-labour steps of the KESC bosses. He said the important public service utility, KESC, has brought to the brink of collapse due to anti-people and anti-labour policies after its privatization. He said the sacking of KESC workers and replacing them with contract workforce would not be tolerated at any cost.

Nasir Mansoor said the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) in past had claimed that it was against the privatization process, but now it is proved that all this was just a lip service. He said every day more and more anti-worker steps are being taken and lives of labours being made a living hell.

He said the privatization process has miserably failed in Pakistan, as it has just aggravated price hike and brought more and more miseries for consumers. He said the government should revisit the concept of privatization and chalk out a new strategy for running vital national organizations in consultation with labours.

He demanded that the genuine demands of 4500 protesting workers of the KESC should be immediately accepted and the ongoing process of privatization in the country should be halted at once. He further demanded that the KESC and some 300 other institutions privatized in Pakistan in a shoddy and dubious manner should be renationalized and a high-power commission, led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, should be formed to probe into historic frauds and bungling in the whole privatization process in Pakistan.