Waqar Mehdi, General Secretary of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sindh and Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh, has strongly condemned the Karachi Port Trust’s (KPT) decision to dissolve the Karachi Dock Labour Board (KDLB).
He labeled the move, instigated by the federal government, as a severe blow to workers and an anti-labor measure, likening it to turning KPT into another K-Electric. Mehdi highlighted that the KDLB, established in 1974 under an Act by ShaheedZulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government, is a symbol of pro-labor policies. He assured full PPP support for the workers’ protests and their legitimate demands concerning the KDLB.
He warned that dissolving the KDLB would jeopardize the livelihood of over 3,000 KPT workers, placing them at the mercy of anti-labor officers, and criticized the lack of consultation with stakeholders. Waqar Mehdi emphasized that the KDLB workers have been protesting for a week, but their concerns are being ignored by KPT and the Federal Ministry of Maritime Affairs. He urged the authorities to follow the directives of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs and abandon their harmful plans to prevent nationwide worker unrest.
