Pakistan: Threats to workers in struggle reinvigorate movement at Taunsa Barrage

The workers' struggle for their rights at Taunsa Barrage is gathering strength and momentum as the administration tries to threaten the workers and stop them from pursuing their demands.

When the workers went back to work after assurances from the administration that their demands would be met, the administration of DESCON resorted to its usual brutal measures to threaten the workers.

A police report has been filed at Daira Din Panah police station in Kot Addu against 26 workers for acts of terrorism and disrupting state functions. The report was filed by company authorities. It is sealed at the moment, to be opened later and used when the current crisis has passed, and the active workers will be repressed.

Company authorities have also hired local "feudals" and hoodlums as the Public Relations Officer threatens workers. The company is now using the powers of these local hooligans to threaten the workers so that they withdraw the rest of their demands.

Discussion with workers

The most important of these demands is the reduction of the working day from 12 to 8 hours. The company is exploiting the labour of the workers extensively and all the workers have been working nearly 12 to 16 hours a day since this project began two years ago. However, on their time cards only 8 hours is marked. These cards are also not given to the workers but are kept by the company authorities.

Despite these attacks, the morale of the workers is very high and they are in high spirits, determined to fight till the end. Even though the normal working day for these workers is 14 to 16 hours long, they take the time for political discussions and are coming up with a strategy to win the struggle.

The PTUDC is playing an important role in this strike. After seeing the company authorities resort to brutal measures, comrades of PTUDC held an emergency meeting on the night of 12th April in which they planned to publish a pamphlet and distribute it among the workers, encouraging them to continue their struggle.

Workers around comrades discussing

The morning shift begins at 6am. The company has only two 12 hour shifts. The comrades were able to publish the leaflet and reach the site in time for the shift change. More than 1000 leaflets were distributed in less than 10 minutes as the workers surrounded the comrades and began discussing with them and reading the leaflet. The queue for entry into the site was transformed into different groups of workers surrounding different comrades for discussion on the situation and asking questions about future strategy.

Comrades explained the reason for the attacks on the workers and explained that only the unity of workers can defeat the brutal administration and their hooligans.

Comrades emphasized the importance of organized struggle as well as the need to spread this struggle to other industries. The workers praised the work of the PTUDC comrades and were eager to join the campaign.

Different groups of workers

The intensity of the movement is such that workers from other job sites nearby also came to the barrage and asked the comrades to help them organize their workplace and involve them in the current trade union campaign. These workers came from Kacchi Canal project and the GRC project, both of which are also being contracted out by other multinational corporations, who are also brutally exploiting the workers.

Kot Addu is heavily industrialized with many large factories and plants. Kot Addu Power Company KAPCO, Pak Arab Refinery PARCO, Oil & Gas Development Corporation OGDCL are just a few of such companies along with other sugar and textile mills which are spread across the whole district.

Seeing the struggle of the workers of Taunsa Barrage, the other workers in the area have been inspired and are now actively supporting their struggle.

Shafqat Balouch, the Vice-president of the Employees Union at OGDCL has said that the workers have proven that the unity of the working class can destabilize the capitalists. He supported this movement and said that if the demands of these workers were not met then the workers at OGDCL would take strike action.

Workers at Taunsa Barrage queuing up for morning shift

Professor Amir Hussain of the Punjab Lecturers' Association has said that this movement has fulfilled his desire to see the power of the workers' movement in action, adding that he would fight for the cause of the workers till the victory of socialism.

Nazir Umar Chandio, the district president of the Peoples' Labour Bureau, Abid Shah and Mukhtar Mukhlisof Al Barq of the union at KAPCO have also expressed similar views and have given full support to the demands of the workers, particularly the reduction of the working day from 12 to 8 hours.

As a result of the growing influence of the PTUDC and the spreading of the movement , the local authorities and the company united to threaten and scare the comrades, who have received anonymous calls threatening them if they do not stop their activity.

The comrades, undeterred by these threats, are continuing their work and again visited the site on the evening of April 13, where they were met by local authorities and hoodlums hired by the company. Seeing the comrades, the workers stopped work and gathered around comrades to defend them. Seeing this situation the hoodlums fled from the site, threatening the workers with "brutal consequences".

The comrades are planning to print another leaflet highlighting the incompetence of the authorities and demanding the reduction of the working day. While this report is being written, workers from the Barrag are arriving at the Labour Club Kot Addu after their shift and taking about plans for further strike action tomorrow, April 14.

The PTUDC is also planning a nationwide demonstration in solidarity with the workers of the Barrage. Comrade Manzoor Ahmed, PTUDC president and Member of the National Assembly, has already issued a press release in support of these workers and will be holding a press conference tomorrow.

We appeal to all workers of the world to support the cause of these workers, as an injury to one is an injury to all! Workers should force the government and the DESCON authorities to reduce the working day to 8 hours and meet all the demands of the workers. We appeal for messages of solidarity and ask that messages of protest be sent to the World Bank, which is funding this project.

See also:

• Workers’ struggle at Taunsa Barrage led by PTUDC puts capitalist extortionists on back foot
• Pakistan: Workers challenge the brutality of multinational corporation at Taunsa Barrage