ISLAMABAD, 15 June 2005 — Twenty-nine workers have been sacked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (PTCL) yesterday for taking part in a strike against the government’s plan to sell a stake and cede control of the firm later this week.
A union leader yesterday condemned senior managers of the PTCL for firing the workers. The union leaders have threatened a major disruption of phone services today unless the government scraps the share sale plan. Latif Qureshi, a member of the PTCL Action Committee, a grouping of nine unions at PTCL, said it will appeal the 29 dismissals in a court. The sacked workers include union leaders.
“This is vindictive action. We demand that they should be given their jobs and all those who have been arrested should be freed,” Qureshi said.
The government plan to sell a 26 percent stake along with management control is expected to fetch over $1.5 billion, making it Pakistan’s biggest privatization.
But the confederation of workers unions said that other state-run firms would face industrial action unless the government dropped the privatization and stopped arresting PTCL workers.
PTCL’s share price fell around two percent yesterday to 69.05 rupees in a generally weaker market with investors showing no discernible alarm at the industrial unrest.
Trade union leaders at PTCL said police had detained around 750 workers since the strike was called on Saturday.
PTCL President Junaid Khan said 29 were sacked for trying to stop others working.
“They were all involved in illegal activities,” Khan told Reuters on Tuesday. “They were trying to ... prevent people from coming to the office.” The army has deployed troops, including members of its signals corp., to help keep services running at Pakistan Telecom.
“The Pakistan Workers Confederation will be forced to join the strike started by the PTCL workers if the government does not immediately release arrested PTCL employees and union leaders,” the PWC said.
Bidding for the telecom firm will go ahead as scheduled on Saturday, a Privatization Commission official said, adding that short-listed firms had to deposit 40 million rupees by tomorrow evening to participate.
