Ludhiana: After month-long protest, power staff suspend agitation till May 20

The unions further opposed a proposal to recruit around 100 employees through PESCO to address manpower shortage in Ludhiana grids, terming it anti-employee

Power employees’ and pensioners’ organisations on Sunday suspended their ongoing “work-to-rule” protest till May 20 after Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) management assured them, during an April 30 meeting in Chandigarh, that pending demands would be addressed by May 15.

Unions say management has agreed to address pending demands by May 15. (HT File)

The decision followed a more than three-hour meeting held under the chairmanship of PSPCL CMD Dr Basant Garg at the utility’s guest house in Chandigarh. Representatives of the PSEB Employees Joint Forum, Bijli Mulazam Ekta Manch Punjab, Association of Junior Engineers, Grid Sub-Station Employees Union and pensioner bodies attended the talks. Union leaders said management had agreed to resolve major employee and pensioner issues and review progress by May 15. The protest had been continuing for nearly a month and was intensified after an April 16 meeting with the power minister allegedly ended in a confrontation, following which employee organisations expanded their agitation programme. Leaders clarified that the “work-to-rule” protest did not involve strikes or dharnas, but comprised gate rallies and employees restricting work strictly to prescribed duty norms.

In a joint statement, union leaders Kulwinder Singh Dhillon, Gurpreet Singh Gandiwind, Harpal Singh and Gurvel Singh Ballpuria said the issues discussed included implementation of PSPCL pay scales for employees recruited after July 17, 2020, extension of pay band benefits to promoted employees after November 17, 2021, financial circular-related matters concerning junior engineers, overtime dues; promotions, recruitment; probation-related compensation; and pension matters.

They said management also assured resolution of issues concerning grid staff shortage, service benefits, security arrangements at substations, clerical promotions and wage formulation committee meetings.

The unions further opposed a proposal to recruit around 100 employees through PESCO to address manpower shortage in Ludhiana grids, terming it anti-employee.

According to union leaders, management agreed to withdraw the proposal during the meeting, while the CMD also directed officials to address certain cadre-related issues on the spot. Following the talks, the organisations suspended the ongoing protest and proposed gheraos of the power management and power minister till May 20. They warned that if assurances were not implemented, the agitation would resume from May 21. The proposed programme includes a state-level dharna outside the chief minister’s residence in Sangrur on May 24, a two-day complete strike on June 16 and 17, and arrest protests by pensioner organisations outside deputy commissioner offices across Punjab.