Power staff may get relief

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday instructed officials to examine the possibility of regularising the 24,000-odd outsourcing employees working in Transco, Genco and the two Discoms in a phased manner.

Besides, Mr Rao urged the Joint Action Committee of electricity employees unions to call off their proposed strike and come for a discussion with energy minister K Jagadeeshwar Reddy on Friday. He also asked the minister to settle the issues of employees amicably.

The Telangana Electricity Trade Unions Front, an umbrella of 13 various organisations in the power sector, had served a strike notice on TSGenco CMD D. Prabhakar Rao on November 3, stating that 24,000 contract workers will go on indefinite strike from December 6, if their long-pending demands were not resolved.

The energy minister had in June assured solution of their demands within three months. Top on their list of demands are regularisation of contract workers and payment of salaries to the workers directly by power utilities and not through contractors.

After reviewing issues pertaining to electricity employees on Thursday, Mr Rao felt that the outsourcing employees who have been working for several years on nominal salaries should be regularised on humanitarian grounds. He said the outsourcing employees have been serving the department though they have been paid lower salaries for a long time. “In the process the outsourcing employees have gained rich experience,” he said.

Meanwhile, electricity employees JAC said they have not received any formal communication from the government but they would take a decision after the meeting.