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KarachiRepresentatives of Pakistan Railways (PR)s major unions addressing at a seminar on Pakistan Railways: Problems, Planning & Strategy opposed its privatization & demanded restructuring of the management by inducting professional managers, providing funds for repairs & purchase of locomotive & making railway profitable through transportation of cargo in the country. Planning Commission and Pakistan Institute of Labor & Research (PILER) jointly organized the consultation session here.
Trade union leaders reiterating that PR, that provided service to millions of people & employed hundreds of thousands, termed the political interference in PR affairs, lack of accountability & uncontrolled corruption by bureaucracy as major factors of the its failure. Maintaining that new legislation should to be made according to ILO conventions they said that the act enacted in 1890 needed revision through parliament. They demanded that Trade Unions should be given representation at the board and management levels. Suggesting writing off all the loans & interest against PR & appointment of professionals, they informed that the companies who were handed over the Business Train and Shalimar Express defaulted. Trade unionists further pointed out that PR had acquired workshops/other facilities - as well as trained manpower - for manufacturing/overhauling of engines, (making coaches, sleepers & tracks) which should be utilized.
Senior economist Dr. Kaiser Bengali said that PR needed to focus on provision of facilities to common people. Holding that its privatization would be quite different from the privatization of other state owned organizations, he said application of Chinese model of creating a competition. Maintaining that track and other facilities should be owned by the state, Kaiser Bengali suggested that private sector might be allowed to run their own trains besides PRs. Executive Director PILER Karamat Ali stressed on safeguarding the interest of workers and passengers in future planning. Tanveer Hussain Bukhari from Planning Commission and Amer Zafar Durrani from World Bank also spoke on the occasion.
Pakistan Railways privatization opposed
Trade union leaders reiterating that PR, that provided service to millions of people & employed hundreds of thousands, termed the political interference in PR affairs, lack of accountability & uncontrolled corruption by bureaucracy as major factors of the its failure. Maintaining that new legislation should to be made according to ILO conventions they said that the act enacted in 1890 needed revision through parliament. They demanded that Trade Unions should be given representation at the board and management levels. Suggesting writing off all the loans & interest against PR & appointment of professionals, they informed that the companies who were handed over the Business Train and Shalimar Express defaulted. Trade unionists further pointed out that PR had acquired workshops/other facilities - as well as trained manpower - for manufacturing/overhauling of engines, (making coaches, sleepers & tracks) which should be utilized.
Senior economist Dr. Kaiser Bengali said that PR needed to focus on provision of facilities to common people. Holding that its privatization would be quite different from the privatization of other state owned organizations, he said application of Chinese model of creating a competition. Maintaining that track and other facilities should be owned by the state, Kaiser Bengali suggested that private sector might be allowed to run their own trains besides PRs. Executive Director PILER Karamat Ali stressed on safeguarding the interest of workers and passengers in future planning. Tanveer Hussain Bukhari from Planning Commission and Amer Zafar Durrani from World Bank also spoke on the occasion.
Pakistan Railways privatization opposed
