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Against proposed Agri Discom: Haryana power staff announce three-day strike from Aug 11
The announcement was made by the representatives of Haryana Bijli Karamchari and Engineer Sayunkt Sangarsh Morcha during their protests in several districts across the state.
Haryana’s power utilities employees and engineers on Wednesday announced a three-day statewide strike from August 11 to 13, intensifying their protest against the state’s proposed power sector reforms and warning of an indefinite agitation if the government notifies the proposed Haryana Agri Discom.
The announcement was made by the representatives of Haryana Bijli Karamchari and Engineer Sayunkt Sangarsh Morcha during their protests in several districts across the state.
In Bhiwani, protesting employees marched from the power corporation office to the mini secretariat and submitted a memorandum addressed to chief minister Nayab Singh Saini through local authorities.
The protesting employees alleged that repeated representations and several rounds of talks with the government had failed to yield any concrete outcome, forcing employees to intensify their agitation.
“We have been raising our legitimate demands for a long time, but the government has not taken any meaningful action,” the Morcha members said, adding that now they have decided to hold a three-day strike.
It further warned that if the government issues a notification for the formation of the proposed Haryana Agri Discom, the memorandum submitted on Wednesday would be treated as an advance notice for an indefinite statewide strike.
During the Bhiwani protest, employees and officers strongly opposed the government’s proposed privatisation measures, including the creation of a separate Agri Discom, the parallel licensing system and the rollout of smart electricity meters. They also objected to decisions concerning the power distribution system in Gurugram and Nuh, alleging that the reforms would weaken the public power utilities.
In the memorandum, the protesters demanded restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS), regularisation of employees working on DC rates and through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN), implementation of the principle of equal pay for equal work, fresh recruitment in the power utilities and creation of new posts under the restructuring exercise.
The employees also sought withdrawal of the online transfer policy, enhancement of risk, medical and conveyance allowances, time-bound promotions for engineers, publication of pending seniority lists, speedy disposal of charge-sheet cases, cashless medical facilities, crèche facilities for women employees, free electricity units for retired employees and resolution of long-pending pay anomalies.
The committee maintained that its demands were not limited to employee welfare but were also intended to ensure uninterrupted and efficient electricity supply across the state.
They urged the government to reconsider its alleged privatisation policies and resolve the pending issues through dialogue at the earliest. Failure to do so would invoke agitations across the state, they warned.
