Ap To Go Ahead With Electricity Board Recast

The Andhra Pradesh government has come out firmly in favour of restructuring the monolithic Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board, despite the threat of the 74,000 employees to launch a strike if the privatisation plan was pursued.

Another recent instance of the governments toughening attitude towards labour was the flash strike in the government-controlled Nizam Sugar Factory in Bodhan, 120 km from Hyderabad. The management promptly announced indefinite lock-out. Now the workers are finding themselves in a tight spot and do not know how to wriggle out of the situation.

The sugar factory strike was to protest against the local police action in searching the houses of three workers residence following complaints of thefts. It was suspected that the wards of some of the workers were involved in the series of thefts reported in the town.

 

Senior officials of the factory rushed to Bodhan to talk to the workers union and sort out matters. But the union representatives did not turn up for the meeting. Now the management has made it clear that any talk will have to take place in Hyderabad and on the managements terms.

More recently, the government refused to reconsider its decision to close down Allwyn Autos Ltd, which has been incurring losses. The 1,700 workers of the unit have been holding dharnas and rasta rokos.

The government has offered liberal voluntary retirement incentives and half the workforce has opted for the scheme. The government has made it clear that it has no intention of reopening the ailing automobile body building unit.

Recently, the government adopted a legislation that prohibits the staff from any of the state enterprises being transferred to any department. In other words, if a government enterprise is closed down or restructured, the surplus staff will have to be retrenched, with good voluntary retirement benefits.

Armed with this statutory provision, the government is keen to close down or privatise all loss-making corporations and state undertakings in a year. A cabinet sub-committee is reviewing the case of each government undertaking and recommending its privatisation or closure.