E-Paper
Power employees end strike before time
Energy minister announces rollback of penal action, assures meaningful steps to implement December 3 agreement
Power sector employees in Uttar Pradesh called off their 72-hour token strike prematurely on Sunday noon after energy minister AK Sharma assured them of taking “meaningful action” on implementation of the December 3 agreement and withdrawing all penal actions taken against them since the start of the strike.
The 72-hour strike called by the U.P. Rajya Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti to press its demand for implementation of the December agreement began on March 16 at 10pm and was to complete its period at 10pm on Sunday.
The strike called off before the scheduled time after a formula acceptable to both the parties was hammered out in a fresh round of meetings between the energy minister and the Sangharsh Samiti leaders here on Sunday.
“Power employees have called off their 72-hour strike before time in the larger consumer interest,” energy minister AK Sharma announced.
“I have directed UPPCL chairman M Devraj to take necessary steps to undo action against employees and their leaders during the strike and also initiate a meaningful action on implementation of December 3 agreement,” Sharma told a section of the media after the meeting.
“I have also urged Sangharsh Samiti leaders to ask striking employees to immediately start repairing power breakdowns to normalise power supply in the affected areas,” he added.
Announcing the premature end of the strike, Sangharsh Samiti convenor Shailendra Dubey said the minister assured them of taking a meaningful step at the earliest for the implementation of the December 3, 2022 agreement, besides resolving other issues.
“Besides, the minister has directed the UPPCL management to repeal all the penal actions, including FIRs, against striking employees and their leaders, suspension or termination of employees during the strike since March 16,” he added.
The December 3 agreement signed between the Sangharsh Samiti and the UPPCL talked, among other things, of government initiating a process to select UPPCL chairman and the MD through a selection committee as laid down in the Article of Association.
