E-Paper
Short-staffed PSPCL to call back retired linemen to help with rain-related emergencies
Notably, parts of Ludhiana have remained plunged into darkness for prolonged over the last couple of months
Battling staff crunch, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has decided to call back retired employees to help deal with emergencies amid the ongoing monsoon season.
Central Zone (Ludhiana) chief engineer on Tuesday directed deputy chief engineers to compile a list of all retired technical employees under the age of 62 in their respective divisions by Wednesday, who can be called in for emergencies.
Notably, parts of the city have remained plunged into darkness for prolonged over the last couple of months as the short-staffed PSPCL continues to struggle to fix technical issues caused by increasing temperature or rain storms.
“In relation to the above subject it has been observed that due to emergency situations like rain storm there is a problem in power supply and there is delay in restoring supply due to lack of staff to provide uninterrupted supply to the consumers,” the letter read.
The letter highlighted increased instances of power disruptions during the period, adding, “There is a problem in proper distribution of electricity supply to the consumers due to which there is a lot of resentment among the consumers and the image of the department is tarnished. Therefore, the list of retired technical employees under your constituency whose age is less than 62 years as on 31.12.2024 should be sent to this office.”
Staffers cry foul
The employees’ union, however, reacted negatively to the development, saying it will allow the corporation to get the service of retired linemen even as they continue to ignore their current employees’ demands.
PSEB Employees’ Unions Federation president Gurpreet Mahdudan said, “In the last couple of months, there have been a lot of accidents in which the linemen were either killed or seriously injured. The linemen went on protest to demand better equipment and facilities.”
“The official age of retirement was 58 as the workers were deemed not fit to work beyond that, so now that the PSPCL acknowledges that even those as old as 62 are fit, why isn’t the retirement age increased to 62,” he asked.
He also highlighted the issue of contractual employees, saying that calling back retired employees was a betrayal to those who have been working for meagre wages for years in hopes of getting regularised.
“I demand that the department instead of these temporary arrangements, should go for regular recruitment so that the issue of staff shortage can be comprehensively addressed.
