Public hearing organized by Public Services Int’l & FES on the topic of privatization & external debt held at a local hotel in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD, Sep 15 (SABAH): Public hearing organized by Public Services International (PSI) and FES on the topic of privatization and external debt was held at a local hotel in Islamabad, in which the effects and losses of privatization and external debt on the public were evaluated.

Former Federal Minister for Privatization Syed Naveed Qamar, Member of Privatization Commission Muhammad Shahbaz Jameel, General Secretary of Public Services International Asia Pacific Kate Lippin, FES Program Advisor Abdullah Dayo, Dr. Aliya Khan, Sindh Human Rights Commission Chairperson Iqbal Ahmed Dehto, Member Zulfiqar Shah, Pakistan Workers Federation General Secretary Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, Chairman Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Aasi, Senior Mazdoor Leader Khurshid Ahmed, Sultan Ahmed Khan, Ramzan Achakzai, Karamatullah, Labour leaders including Shaukat Ali Anjum, Khan Zaman participated in large numbers.

Speaking during the public hearing, Pakistan Workers Federation General Secretary Chaudhary Muhammad Yasin said that workers are the backbone of any country’s economy, but unfortunately, workers have been deprived of their basic rights and labour laws have been violated. Due to non-implementation, the workers are suffering from severe anxiety and important institutions of the country are being sold by privatization commission, due to which millions of workers are becoming unemployed and the country is becoming economically weaker, the main reason being that the decisions of privatization of the institutions are pending. The representative organizations are not consulted due to which the problems are increasing. CDA is an important institution of the federal capital whose various sectors are being privatized, thousands of workers are working in the sanitation sector, but the workers are being exploited through the contractual system, while the contract workers are deprived of facilities and privileges, in the end he said in his message that we labor leaders should unite on a platform and discuss the problems of labor together, we demand the government of Pakistan and related institutions to the process of consultation with the representative organizations of the workers should be ensured on all decisions regarding the workers, including privatization.