The Employees of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) have ended their sit-in following assurances from Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain.
In a meeting held with USC employees, the minister reassured them of the government’s commitment to maintaining the operations of the Utility Stores.
Following these assurances, USC employees decided to end their sit-in protest, which had been ongoing since August 26 at D Chowk.
Employees announced the end of their protest after receiving confirmation that a subsidy of Rs50 billion under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and an additional Rs10 billion Ramazan package allocated in the budget would be provided.
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Rana Tanveer also agreed to form a committee to oversee the restructuring of the USC.
Earlier, the Secretary of Industry had confirmed that the government was indeed considering shutting down utility stores as part of a right-sizing initiative.
The federal government decision to close utility stores nationwide, was expected to significantly impact millions of low-income families who rely on discounted essential goods.
