HYDERABAD: A lockout was observed for two hours in the offices of Hesco district headquarters and a sit-in was staged outside the offices by a large number of employees and officers here on Tuesday.

They were protesting against the proposed privatisation of Wapda, dissolution of Pepco and appointment of outsiders as CEO, secretaries, consultants and members of board of directors of Wapda and other companies and leasing of powerhouses.

Speaking on the occasion, president of the Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union (CBA), Abdul Latif Nizamani, said officers and employees of the Wapda companies throughout Pakistan had boycotted work for two hours at the headquarters of various companies. He said scope of the protest would be enlarged if the government failed to take notice.

During the first phase of the protest, power supply to all the VVIPs would be stopped, he said.

He said the government was bent upon destroying Wapda and due to high tariff of electricity, consumers were being compelled to steal electricity.

He demanded that the power tariff should be reduced and load-shedding should be stopped by re-starting the closed powerhouses after upgrading.

President of the Hesco Officers Association Laeeq Ahmed Khan demanded that privatisation of Wapda should be stopped and no outsider should be appointed as chief executive of any power company.