The collapse of the PTCL sale to UAE Company, Etisalat, has confirmed the suspicions of the PTCL workers, who went on strike that private capital could never be relied upon to cater to the needs of the working class. PTCL Trade Union leaders Abdul Ghaffar Nadeem, Shahid Hussain, Malik Nazar Hussain and Haji Muhammad Hanif have asserted this.
In a press statement issued here on Sunday, they said the PTCL workers were promised bonus before the Eid holiday, in addition to the numerous other incentives such as company scales and leave encashment.
They said all of those commitments were originally made in the so-called agreement signed between the management and PTCL union leaders at the time of the bidding in late June but nothing had materialised so far.
Now with the sale's collapse, the workers had been left in the lurch and there is every chance that the government would offload the company to the next in line bidder without any consideration for the needs and democratic rights of the workers. Non-CBA unions believe that capital by its very nature would never prioritise workers and would instead marginalia them at every turn so as to maximise return on its investment.
It is clear that Etisalat's pullout reflects the fact that the company did not feel it could guarantee the levels of profit that it has originally envisioned.
All unions would work together with unions committed to standing up to the privatisation of the PTCL to prevent the government from once again attempting to sell the company to a capitalist firm that is unconcerned with the larger welfare needs of the workers and the people of Pakistan.
They urged the government to realise the growing anger and resentment amongst the working class at its blatantly pro-capital policies.