News
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
‘Reinstatement of KESC workers victory of democracy’
* Shazia Marri says KESC management has shown immense forbearance
Staff Report
KARACHI: Sindh Electric Power Minister Shazia Marri on behalf of the government, has expressed pleasure over the reinstatement of the 4,500 KESC employees retrenched on January 19 and termed it a victory of democracy.
She said that the reinstatement was the result of collaboration and fruitful discussions, which were held between the government, KESC management, and employees represented through their unions, to resolve the issue. Marri, while giving a policy statement on the floor of the Sindh Assembly and later on talking to journalists, said that the government was aware of its responsibilities and always pledged to uphold the rights of all labours. She said that in keeping with such commitment, the plight of the retrenched employees of KESC was felt keenly by President Asif Ali Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan.
Marri stated that with directives to the provincial government to resolve the issue with a view to reach a just result, President Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani constituted a three-member committee to collaborate with the provincial government which comprised Federal Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Senator Raza Rabbani and Federal Minister Syed Khursheed Shah.
She further said that the Sindh chief minister and Sindh governor also constituted eight-member provincial committee to negotiate with KESC management and ensure that workers concerns were addressed and such provincial committee comprised herself (Shazia Marri) as its chairperson while other members were provincial ministers Dr Sagheer Ahmed, Engr M Rafiq Advocate, Amir Nawab, Advisers to Sindh Chief Minister Rashid Rabbani, Khawaja Izhar ul Hasan, and Senator Abdul Haseeb and MPA Khalid Iftikhar.
Marri said that the KESC management showed immense forbearance and capacity in agreeing to the reinstatement and after numerous discussions with the committees, under the guidance of the Sindh chief minister and the Sindh governor, the decision of reinstatement was considered.
She said that these efforts would not have been successful without the support of democratic political parties and their leadership and this shows confidence that in future any and all issues will be addressed in the spirit of mutual aid and through teamwork. Marri offered her thanks to the political leaderships and the media, which highlighted the workers peaceful protest. She further said that Pakistan Peoples Party has always remained deeply committed to protecting the rights of the labour force, for which it is known as the party of the ‘mazdoor’.
She said that PPP was the first democratic party to give voice and power to the poor and downtrodden people of Pakistan and Shaheed Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his valiant daughter Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had left their party workers with the vision and the mission to promote and defend the rights of the workers. Marri said that in this regard the present government of PPP, in accordance to its manifesto, had replaced the Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002, with the pro-labor Industrial Relations Act 2008.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk