Power employees on three-day strike in Chandigarh from today

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 21

In view of a three-day strike by employees of the Electricity Department from midnight, the UT Administration has made necessary arrangements for the smooth supply of power in the city.

The UT Powermen Union has given a call for a 72-hour strike from February 22 to 24 in all shifts to oppose the privatisation of the Electricity Department. An official spokesperson said the UT Administration had always been sympathetic to the genuine demands of the electricity employees and there was no reason for any strike by them. The employees were, therefore, advised to attend duty.

“Necessary arrangements for maintaining the power supply have been made,” stated the spokesperson. The Administration has requested the public to contact complaint centres in their area for electricity issues. Besides, they can also contact the established control rooms.

Meanwhile, the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE) has pledged all-out support to the power employees against the privatisation of the department. VK Gupta, spokesperson, All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), said on February 22, Haryana employees and engineers would join their counterparts followed by Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh employees and engineers on the subsequent days.

The UT Powermen Union has given a call for a three-day strike from Tuesday with a threat to extend it for an indefinite period in case the proposal to privatise a “profit-making entity” is not withdrawn.

Congress backs strike

The Congress has extended its support to the three-day strike call by powermen. Terming it a decision to "sell" the UT Electricity Department, Subhash Chawla, city Congress president, said the party was in principle opposed to the "sale" of profit-making public sector undertakings. He said the UT Electricity Department had been consistently running in profits even though its tariff was among the lowest in the country.

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