Members of the WAPDA Hydro Electric Workers Union have threatened the government that if the proposed privatization of electricity distribution companies is not stopped, the power supply across the country will be completely shut down.

This ultimatum was given during a protest in Thatta on Wednesday, where union leaders from Thatta and Sujawal districts maintained that the privatization of state-owned power distribution companies is absolutely unacceptable. They termed the policy an “economic murder of workers,” predicting it would render thousands of laborers jobless at a time when severe inflation has already crippled household finances.

Union officials, including Chairman Waheed Ali Rind and other local leaders, emphasized that WAPDA employees are already burdened with excessive workloads and deprived of basic facilities. They pointed to an eight-year ban on new recruitment for vacant posts, which has forced a single employee to do the work of ten people. The protestors demanded an immediate end to the recruitment ban and the timely payment of all employee dues.

The protest, part of a nationwide movement called by labor leader Latif Nizami, saw union members march from the HESCO office in Makli to the main national highway. Carrying placards and banners, the participants blocked the main highway and staged a sit-in, vowing to continue their peaceful campaign for workers’ rights until their legitimate demands are met.