CHANDIGARH: National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE) has pledged all-out support to Chandigarh power employees against privatisation of the electricity department . This was decided in the virtual meeting of the NCCOEEE presided over by K O Habeeb.
V K Gupta spokesperson All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) said on Sunday that all NCCOEEE constituent organisations of electricity employees and engineers will organise massive demonstrations at all state capitals in support of the anti-privatisation strike of the Chandigarh electricity
employees.
Power sector employees and engineers from the nearby states to join the rally of striking workers at Chandigarh. On February 22 Haryana employees and engineers will join their counterparts followed by Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh employees and engineers on subsequent days.
As Privatisation threat Looms Over UT's electricity department, the UT Powermen Union – Chandigarh has given a call for a three-day work strike from Tuesday , February 22, with a threat to extend the strike action for an indefinite period in case the proposal to privatize a “profit-making entity” is not withdrawn.
The agitating employees fear that the privatisation of the Chandigarh electricity department would portend a change in their service conditions along with higher power tariffs for the UT's residents.
V K Gupta said that Chandigarh UT does not have an elected Government,so no conciliation or dialogue has yet been opened in Chandigarh. Meanwhile,support to this anti-privatization struggle has been
extended to by all political parties, Trade Unions, except BJP and its allies.
Meanwhile, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) also came to support the electricity employees in Chandigarh, condemning the “unbridled servility of the Modi regime to the corporate caprices for the public assets.” It seems that the central government drew no lessons from the united joint movement of electricity employees and engineers with public support in the UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry.
In several judgments of the Supreme Court ,it has been held that employees of a govt department cannot be transferred to a private company without their consent . The proposal in the transfer scheme of UT Chandigarh
to transfer the UT Electricity employees to a private company is going against this.