[olympiaworkers] Power strike ongoing in Karachi

Libcom.org Jun 9 2011

A strike by workers at Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has yet to
come to a resolution, and is disrupting industry across Pakistan.

Workers at KESC have been taking strike action for over a month, with
negotiations between the workers' union and management reaching deadlock.
A solidarity strike called by several political parties last week which
caused significant disruption to the local economy and which saw violent
clashes failed to move management to seeking a resolution.

The ongoing strike by the privatised power company's staff is causing
three to four outages daily, and power supply is likely to be badly
affected should the strike be ongoing during the summer rains.

Manufacturing is being affected across Pakistan as suppliers and
industrial sites around Karachi see local power outages going unfixed for
days.

The strike revolves around the retrenchment of around 4,000 KESC staff
fired earlier in the year, and has seen a relentless media campaign by
KESC management against the strikers. In return, a number of acts of
sabotage have been committed against substations and power lines to
strengthen the strike.