Paddy season-PSPCL management in adamant mood; engineer advanced their protest
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
In the midst of paddy season, peak summer when the power demand in Punjab is touching new heights, it’s power engineers has intensified their protest against its management, for not resolving their demands, issues.
Today, the members of PSEB Engineers’ Association comprising all the officers of PSPCL/ PSTCL from the rank of Assistant Engineer to Engineer-in-Chief have exited Official WhatsApp groups under protest. Engineers have been on protest for the last many months against the Management due to the non-resolution of their long pending genuine demands. Recently, Management held a meeting with the Association, but engineers have alleged that no concrete headway has been made towards the resolution of their genuine demands. All the members of the Association are already switching off their official mobile phones from 5:00 PM to 09:00 AM daily as a mark of protest for the past many days. Intensifying their protest further,all the officers of PSPCL/ PSTCL including all Engineer-In-Chief today exited the WhatsApp groups being used for official communication/ information sharing.
It is pertinent to mention that PSEB Engineers’ Association had already given advance notice for the agitation program. Multiple times the agitation program has been postponed/ delayed. Recently another 10 days were given to the management but no concrete action has been taken by the management. If the demands of the Engineers are not duly accepted by the Management, the Engineers will hand over their official SIM Cards on 25.06.2021. The Engineers of PSPCL/ PSTCL toil hard day and night to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the public of Punjab but the indifferent attitude of the Management towards genuine demands of the Engineers has forced them to resort to the path of agitation.
Er. J.S. Dhiman, President of the Association assured that engineers will make every effort to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers of the State, hospitals and other essential services in wake of the COVID crisis in the state. PSEB Engineers’ Association again appeals that the genuine demands of the Association regarding the shortage of staff & material, ensuring availability of computers/ printers etc, restoration of IT facilities, grant of start scale of 18030/- to Assistant Engineers, restoration of NPS share of employer to 14%, restoration of Generation Incentive and Constitution of Wage Formulation Committee etc. may be resolved at the earliest, failing which Association shall be constrained to intensify the protest further.
Paddy season-PSPCL management in adamant mood; engineer advanced their protest. Association further appeals to the Chief Minister Punjab to get these issues resolved.
When contacted the Director Administration, PSPCL, RP Pandove, to know the management point of view, on engineers protest, he said,” i’m in meeting at Chandigarh and will talk to you later.’
Later, he informed that the PSPCL management has invited the PSEB Engineers Association representatives, to resolve the issue, tomorrow at 10:30 am at CMD camp office, Mohali. From the management side, CMD along with director administration and director finance will participate in the meeting. He further added that, ‘we are hopeful to resolve this issue in tomorrow’s meeting.”
June 22,2021
