Employees of Utility Store Corporation (USC) on Tuesday launched protest outside of local press club for closing 1000 stores followed by termination of 3000 employees from the department.  According to a spokesperson, large number of employees gathered and raised slogans against the authority for the employees' termination, calling it 'an economic murder' of the people during on-going wave of inflation hitting the country. 

The protesters demanded of the government to restore employees got terminated without prior notice and reason with single stole of pen day before yesterday.  They called out the government to take back its privatization decision with closing stores as per the earlier pledge was made with the staffers in recent past.  They requested the government to issue funds in order to rehabilitate the department and re-start its operation in full swing. 

Addressing the protesters, National Workers Union CBA’s patron-in-chief,Israr Fareed Chishti and All Pakistan Workers Alliance’s central Vice President(VC),Malik Muzaffar Sandeela said that the authorities have taken U-turn by first shutting down more than 1,000 stores nationwide and now terminating 3,000 daily wage employees, many of whom had been working for 15 to 20 years.   

They said that these employees had already been regularized by various courts across the country,adding that the National Assembly’s Special Committee,led by Qadir Khan Mandokhail,had also ordered their regularization.  Yet, these employees have been left jobless,causing them severe economic hardship,they said.  In a tragic turn of events,Junaid Qureshi, a daily wage employee from Abbottabad, unable to cope with the distress of job loss, took his own life,they said in the speech. 

The protesting workers also called for the immediate release of the PKR 60 billion subsidy funds allocated for the USC in the 2024-25 budget.  Additionally,they demanded an independent inquiry into the corruption allegations against USC employees.  They said that strict action be taken against those of responsible for the any corruption if proved into the department. 

Furthermore,they urged the Federal board of Revenue (FBR) to release the PKR 12 billion it has withheld from USC.  The workers have given a deadline of February 27,2025 for their demands to be met.  They warned of staging sit-in outside the USC head office from Feb 27 onward in case the demands wouldn't be met in letter and spirit.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)