Power employees to boycott work on Feb 3 against govt's privatisation

Intensifying stir against the Centre's privatisation policy, 15 lakh power employees of the country would resort to "work boycott" on February 3, the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) said.

"Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), through a letter, has also been apprised (of this) besides notice served on Union and state governments," AIPEF Chairman Shailendra Dubey said on Sunday, during a virtual conference.

He firmly said the Electricity (Amendment) Bill in its current form is unacceptable.

To build pressure on the government, the Federation earlier held meetings and has resorted to token work boycotts.

Unless the government rescinds its decision, the agitation would further be intensified as the steps taken by the government in the name of reforms had placed power distribution companies (discoms) in alarming financial crisis, said the AIPEF chairman.

Despite failure of privatisation in Agra, Greater Noida and Orissa, the government is moving ahead without bothering to take feedback of practical aspect from discoms, who are the real sufferers, he added.

In the name of reforms, the government is serving the interest of the private sector, gradually destroying the public sector across the country, the official said.

AIPEF wants the commencement of the withdrawal process of privatisation of electricity from the public sector to private companies in states and Union territories without further delay, he said.

The official said the Federation demands scrapping of the Electricity Bill and standard bidding document for total privatisation of distribution of electricity.

It also urged the government to re-merge all power utilities in states with function components of generation, transmission, and distribution like KSEB Ltd and HPSEB Ltd.

The Federation official also demanded the implementation of old pension scheme for all power sector employees and regularisation of all contractual workers.