Staff Report
PESHAWAR: The employees of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) on Monday staged a protest rally outside Peshawar Press Club against the proposed plan of closing the corporation stores across Pakistan, which they said would be their economic murder.
In connection to a nationwide strike, Utility Stores Corporation Employees held a protest rally on Monday outside the Peshawar Press Club.
The USC employees gathered outside the Peshawar press club and shouted slogans in support of their demands and against the incumbent government for the decision to shut down the stores across the country.
The rally was also joined by the Awami National Party leaders, provincial general secretary Shah Hussain Yousafzai, and spokesperson ANP, Arsalan Khan, who expressed their solidarity with the protesting USC employees.
Addressing the rally, ANP leader Shah Hussain Yousafzai said that the closure of USC stores was an injustice to the already greatly suffered employees of the USC due to the country’s financial condition.
“The government decision is tantamount to economic exploitation of the poor USC employees,” He said and added Utility stores were the only means of providing cheap and quality essential commodities to the common man, but the incumbent government was snatching even the last morsel of bread from the poor by devising anti-public policies in the country.
He said the closure of utility stores would make thousands of employees unemployed, which was not fair in any way and unacceptable to ANP.
The ANP leader said the decision to shut down the utility stores should be withdrawn immediately, and the employment of employees should be ensured.
Mr. Hussain said Awami National Party stood by the USC employees in solidarity with the employees of Utility Stores Corporation and supported all the legitimate demands of these employees.
President ANP Metropolitan Arbab Rashid Samin, Vice President Ghulam Hassan, Salar Javed Shinwari, Malgari Tajaran President Gul, Fazal Wahid Faiz Rasool, and other members were also present on the occasion.
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