The Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan dismissed more than 3,500 contract employees.
Arif Shah, Secretary General of the All Pakistan Workers Alliance Utility Stores, confirmed the move, stating, “Letters have been sent to regional managers regarding this decision. Regional managers hold the authority to dismiss employees in grades one to thirteen.”
The dismissed contract workers, in retaliation, organised a protest at Scheme Mor in Lahore, with the Utility Stores Union denouncing the decision. The union called the dismissals illegal, citing a Supreme Court injunction that allegedly protected the rights of the employees. “We intend to file a writ for contempt of court on Monday,” Shah added.
Meanwhile, Nawab Shah Niaz Hussain Brohi, the regional manager of Utility Stores, adopted a highly unusual form of protest. Brohi wrote a letter in his own blood to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) supremo Maulana Fazlur Rehman, urging him to intervene.
In the letter, Brohi argued that the institution, founded by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, was originally established to serve the poor. He claimed that the recent attempts to close down the utility stores were part of a larger conspiracy orchestrated by a powerful sugar mafia. Brohi had appealed to Maulana Fazlur Rehman for help in protecting the institution.
