UP electricity dept employees threaten to go on strike from 10pm tonight

Electricity department employees of Uttar Pradesh have announced a three-day strike starting Thursday night over the selection process for chairman and the managing director in power companies and other issues including "pay anomalies".

The employees began their protest under the umbrella of Vidyut Karmacharis Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, a union of electricity department employees, on Wednesday and held demonstrations across the state on Thursday.

About 1 lakh employees would participate in the strike starting at 10pm, Samiti Convenor Shailendra Dubey told PTI.

Dubey said the government and the employees had agreed on some points on December 23 last year but several of those points have not been implemented even after three months.

He claimed the government had agreed that the chairman and the managing director of the power companies would be selected through a committee headed by the chief secretary but these posts are now being filled on the basis of transfers.

Dubey said some other points of the agreement yet to be fulfilled are: implementation of the Power Sector Employees Protection Act, stopping outsourcing of operation and maintenance of power sub-stations for transmission, equal honorarium for different corporations, revision of allowances and removal of salary anomalies.

The Samiti office-bearers say the employees were forced to go on strike because of the "stubbornness" of the top management of energy corporations. Those who would go on strike include engineers, junior engineers, technicians, operating staff, clerical and contractual employees, they added.

Dubey said after about 23 years, a complete strike of electricity department employees is taking place in the state. Earlier, employees of emergency services were exempted from boycotting work on different occasions, but this time all 1 lakh employees will participate in the strike.

He said on the call of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE), about 27 lakh electricity department employees from across the country have extended support to the strike.