Telangana CM to regularise contractual Discom workers

In an effort to quell the strikes called by the contractual employees of Discom companies in Telangana, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Thursday directed the officials to examine the possibilities of regularizing all outsourcing employees working in the T.S. Transco, T.S. Genco and Discoms in a phased manner.

The decision was taken during a review meeting chaired by the Chief Minster at Pragathi Bhavan.

Minister for Power Jagadeeshwar Reddy, T.S. Genco CMD D Prabhakar Rao, T.S. SPDCL CMD Raghuma Reddy, TSNPDCL CMD Gopal Rao and Special Chief Secretary to Government (Energy) Ajay Mishra, CMO Principal Secretaries S Narsing Rao and Shanti Kumari participated in the review meeting.

The Chief Minister has asked the Electricity Employees Unions to call off their proposed strike and come for a discussion.

Rao opined that the outsourcing employees who have been working for several years on nominal salaries should be regularized on humanitarian grounds. He asked the officials to prepare guidelines towards this.

He also asked the Electricity Employees unions to call off their proposed stir and have a meeting with Power Minister K Jagadeeshwar Reddy on Friday and sort out the problems.

The Chief Minister recalled that salaries of the employees working in electricity department were increased substantially in the past and salaries of the out sourcing employees were also hiked. The state government is also ready to settle all the issues of the electricity employees amicably through discussions, he said.

"TSGENCO CMD Prabhakar Rao and other officials have brought to the notice of the Chief Minister the demands of Electricity employees and outsourcing employees," the official release from the Chief Minister's office stated.

"They informed the CM that the outsourcing employees were rendering their valuable services in the management of Sub Stations, Power lines, Power Plants as well as handling the administrative work. There was demand for the regularisation of the out sourcing employees. To this, Rao has responded positively," it added.

However, the Chief Minister reiterated that employees working in the power sector could solve their issues and problems through discussions with the state government and hence there is no need for them to go on a strike.

In this context, he asked the electricity employees union not to become party to the strike given on political considerations and to prevent any inconvenience to the general public by calling off the strike notice.