ISLAMABAD: The employees of Utility Stores Corporation (USC), on Wednesday, staged a sit-in against the government’s plans to close the organisation.

Thousands of employees of the USC who earlier staged a sit-in outside USC headquarters moved to D-Chowk and started a protest sit-in to press the government to take back the proposed plan.

The protesting employees were holding banners inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands.

Following the USC employees’ movement towards D-Chowk, the city police sealed the Red Zone and kept only one gate of the Red Zone open for the entry of motorists aimed to avert the entry of protesters into the high-security zone. Due to protests and the closure of the Red Zone, heavy traffic jam was observed in the capital on different roads.

A union leader, Arif Shah, said the protest had been started with the participation all USC employees. “We will continue to sit in and protest till fulfilment of our demands regarding the reversal of government plan to close USC. We do not accept the government decision,” he said.

He said the government had not increased the salaries of USC employees for the last four years as well as not regularised contract employees.

Nafisa Shah, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader, during her visit to USC employees’ sit-in, said the USC was a welfare institution and the constitution did not allow to close it. “It was decided in a closed door meeting to close USC,” she said, adding the PPP made welfare state within the constitution and USC is part of it.

She said Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had given the gift of USC to the public.

Another welfare programme of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was also made by PPP, she said, adding it was the USC which provided basic commodities to the poor people.

Later, the USC employees’ union leader Raja Maskeen told the protesters that a government committee headed by Rana Sanaullah called him for the meeting.

He said he would decide the next course of action after the meeting with Sanaullah.

The USC operates over 4,000 stores nationwide, aiming to provide essential commodities to the public at subsidised rates.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024