Strike by junior engineers hits power supply, maintenance in Gurugram

Electricity supply and maintenance works, including repairing damaged and faulty transformers, cables, billing corrections, metre replacements and official revenue works, were badly affected in Gurugram

Electricity supply and maintenance works, including repairing damaged and faulty transformers, cables, billing corrections, metre replacements and official revenue works, were badly affected in Gurugram, on Tuesday, because of the state-wide strike called by the Haryana State Electricity Board Engineers’ Association.

Junior engineers of the state electricity department, including 103 junior engineers from Gurugram, have joined the strike, called to press for pay hike and promotions. (HT File Photo)

Junior engineers of the state electricity department, including 103 junior engineers from Gurugram, have joined the strike, called to press for pay hike and promotions. There are a total of 2,000 junior engineers in the state.

The Haryana State Electricity Board Engineers’ Association has demanded high-grade pay and promotion of JEs to sub divisional engineers (SDEs) in a 50:50 ratio. The state electricity department recruits degree-holders directly to the post of SDE and promotes junior engineers with diplomas in the ratio of 65:35.

“We got diplomas to become junior engineers from the HSEB and our promotions to SDEs has been pending for years because government only promotes 35% diploma holders to SDEs. This is a wrong practice. Many junior engineers retire without getting promoted. We had intimated the electricity department of our demands but the government ignored them. We had to sit on a strike, which will continue on Wednesday as well,” association chairman Sumit Sinhmar said, adding that the future course of actions will be decided during a meeting of the body on Wednesday.

Amit Mudgil, general secretary of the association, said, “Our intention is not to cause inconveniences to residents but we are deprived of promotions and pay scale etc in many ways and we have been demanding long.”

This is not the first time the junior engineers have gone on a strike to press for their demands. On September 19, they boycotted office work but continued doing the field duty. On September 23, the association decided to hold a two-day sit-in strike outside the electricity office on Mehrauli Road.

Meanwhile, residents bore the brunt of the protest as many returned disappointed from the SDE offices.