Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) workers are on strike in Balochistan, as they demand fair wages and basic rights amidst a growing water crisis and a ban on trade unions.
The situation gets worse as WASA workers remain on strike in Balochistan’s provincial capital Quetta; the city already faces a critical water shortage. The workers demand fair wages and essential benefits from the authorities. But, it is not only about water shortages; it raises the concern of public sector workers particularly those in Balochistan province where a complete ban on public sector unions as a judgment declared 62 trade unions as unlawful, and there are millions of workers currently without any union and hence voice left for their rights.
The WASA employees including tubewell operators and wall men are on strike with demands for a 25% ad hoc allowance and other benefits regarding the problem of inflation affecting their livelihoods. Recently the government of Balochistan has refused this request since it cost Rs 380 million annually.
Nonetheless, for those many workers who support the water supply needs, the cost of living is increasingly unbearable. The failure to provide governmental support to WASA workers proves that the authorities of the province have completely ignored public sector employees in Balochistan, who struggle with financial difficulties while performing services for the community.
The unruly strike has denied more than 400 tube wells in Quetta and has caused problems in the water supply to a city, which is already suffering from the problem. The residents, who used to be supplied with water every other day for only one hour at that, are now faced with even more difficulties.
Due to scarcity, they lack a normal source of water, and the supply of water through tankers has skyrocketed due to increased demand. For the people of Quetta, the idea that strikes have a positive sense of reminding society of the importance of WASA workers and the services they deliver makes it compulsory for the government to extend its support to such important workers and look into the problem.
Balochistan has dealt a blow to the province’s labour movement by banning trade unions. Through the exclusion of worker representation, the government has successfully restricted thousands of workers across the Public service.
As a result of unwritten policies, and no union representation, WASA workers and others are helpless and without the right to collectively bargain and demand the support they need to continue to service their people by providing crucial services.
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