Himachal power department employees suspend work for two hours
The protest call was given by the joint action committee of engineers and employees and they demanded that all the posts put in the surplus pool be restored
Protesting against the Himachal government’s plan to abolish about 700 posts in the electricity board, the engineers and employees of the board suspended work for two hours across the state on Friday.
The protest call was given by the joint action committee of engineers and employees and they demanded that all the posts put in the surplus pool be restored.
Hiralal Verma, co-convener of the joint action committee of engineers and employees, alleged that this is a one-sided decision of the management class and its process was not logical. “While the promotion of employees will be affected in these abolished posts, there will be additional burden on the employees at the workplace,” he said.
He accused the state government that while there is a need to create and fill new posts in the electricity board, the state government, on the contrary, is engaged in abolishing the existing posts in the board. “The decision taken by the government to fill 1,030 posts in the board is pending for a year, while the appointments of the candidates identified for the posts of JAO (IT) have been cancelled,” he said.
Meanwhile, spokesperson of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited, Anurag Parashar, on Thursday clarified that no posts have been abolished in the Board. He refuted the allegations being made by employee organisations stating that the board was following the directions of the independent authority-- Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission.
He said that the commission has directed the Board to reduce salaries and pension expenses of its employees, as it was the highest in the country, standing at ₹2.50 per unit. Given its role in determining electricity tariffs, the commission was continuously reviewing the financial position of the Board and has repeatedly advised reducing employee-related costs, as excessive expenditure could adversely impact the financial health of the board. Keeping this in view, certain categories of posts were being rationalised instead of abolished. He said that recruitment for these posts would be carried out again in the future when required.