12 lakh power employees, engineers threaten to go on strike

Around 12 lakh power employees and engineers across the country will go on one-day strike on the day Electricity (Amendment) Bill is presented in Parliament during the Monsoon session beginning tomorrow.
Despite the opposition of power employees and engineers to the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2014, it has been put on agenda of Lok Sabha and can come up anytime between July 21 and August 13, Chairman of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) Shailendra Dubey said here today.
"Hence, powermen throughout the country have been alerted to observe strike/work boycott on that day," he said.
Opposing the bill, Dubey alleged the amendments were not based upon ground realities and were in the interest of private players.

"This will make state power utilities financially bankrupt as the amendments in electricity bill seeks to segregate the power distribution network from electricity supply business... this is basically anti-people and does not look at root cause of power sector ailments," he said.
Stressing that 18 states have already opposed the bill, which is before the Standing Committee of Parliament on Energy, Dubey said the Centre is bent upon passing the bill to facilitate corporate houses. "This is not acceptable to power employees and engineers," he warned.
The National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE) has already served the strike/ work boycott notice to Prime Minister with copies to Union Power Minister, Union Labour Minister and Chief Ministers of all states, he said.

The signatories of strike/work boycott notice are All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), All India Federation of Power Diploma Engineers (AIFPDE), All India Electricity Employees Federation (AITUC), Electricity Employees Federation of India (CITU), Indian National Electricity Workers Federation (INTUC), All India Power Mens Federation and some independent worker unions in other states, Dubey added.