Strike against power privatisation: Chandigarh seeks employees from Punjab, Haryana

Chandigarh, Jan. 29 -- Apprehending that the UT power department employees will go on a 10-day strike from January 29 to February 7, the UT administration has prepared a detailed contingency plan to address major power disruptions.

The employees are protesting against the privatisation of power distribution in Chandigarh, with the contract having been awarded to Kolkata-based Eminent Electricity Distribution Limited (EEDL). In response, the UT engineering department has sent letters to Power Grid Corporation of India, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Bhakra Beas Management Board, Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam, Military Engineering Services (MES) and outsourcing agencies, requesting technical staff from authorities concerned.

The contingency plan has been prepared following the Punjab and Haryana high court's directive in case the power department employees go on strike again. UT chief engineer-cum-special secretary of engineering CB Ojha said, "We have requested staff from Punjab, Haryana and other agencies to appoint a nodal officer for coordination. A citizen facilitation centre will be set up to address public grievances and social media will also be used to keep the public informed."

To protect power sector infrastructure, special officers will be deputed, particularly at government buildings and hospitals. Critical institutions have been instructed to install generator sets, and additional vendors have been identified, as reported to the court.

Reacting to the UT administration's plan, power union general secretary Gopal Dutt Joshi said, "The UT administration is instilling fear in the minds of the people and employees by demanding staff from neighbouring states. We have clearly announced that if they hand over the assets without fulfilling our demands, we will begin a work boycott from that day."

Earlier, following a strike call from the UT Powermen Union against the privatisation of electricity services from January 1, the UT administration prohibited the department employees from striking for the next six months. The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) extended the Haryana Essential Services Maintenance Act (HESMA), 1974, to Chandigarh, replacing the East Punjab Essential Services (Maintenance) Act (ESMA), 1947, which was invoked on December 5, 2024.

In February 2022, the union staged a three-day strike, causing widespread disruption in the city. Allegations were made that power outages were due to sabotage by the protesting employees. Consequently, disciplinary action was taken against 143 employees, and 17 outsourced employees were terminated. An FIR was filed on February 23, 2022, against eight individuals.

Workers remain firm in boycotting work

The protest continued on Tuesday, with employees rallying against the privatisation of the electricity department and the transfer of employees to a private company without addressing their service conditions or providing them an option.

They demanded the cancellation of the letter of intent (LoI) issued to the company. During the rallies, union president Amrik Singh announced that a nationwide protest would be held on January 31. They warned that the work boycott would begin the day the department was handed over to the private company.

Notices have been sent to all senior officials, including the chief engineer. The speakers emphasised that if employees are transferred to private companies without a policy in place or an option for them, they would boycott work, and the administration's stance would be held responsible for any public inconvenience. Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hindustan Times. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at [email protected]