PSPCL agrees to consider  power engineers demand in time bound schedule

By Vinod Gupta

PATIALA: PSPCL management agrees to consider the demands of power engineers in a time bound schedule.The Powercom engineers have been agitating for the last six months .

Ajaypal Singh Atwal, General Secretary of PSEB Engineers Association said that they held a meeting with PSPCL management which was attended by CMD, Director/Distribution, Director/Commercial, and Director/Finance and Association’s office bearers at Chandigarh.

Atwal said that the main focus was on the AE starting scale, which was discussed in detail with the management. PSPCL management assured that concrete steps would be taken to solve the issue within the coming week. The issue was also discussed separately with the officials of finance department.

It may be recalled that PSEB has been granted higher pay scales compared to their counterparts in the Punjab government recognising the arduous and critical nature of their responsibilities in comparison to other departments. This pay differential has always been maintained, acknowledging the demanding nature of power sector duties.

It was assured that the existing committee will revisit the generation incentive, and Director/Finance will detail the funding details for the Terminal Benefits Trust. The management also agreed to re-examine the Cashless Medical Scheme for power sector employees .

During the meeting, the Association voiced a firm stance against the sale of power sector assets and any violations of tripartite agreement (TPA ) as such moves are completely unacceptable .

Punjab government is unilaterally planning sale of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) land assets which is "completely illegal" and needs to be revoked forthwith. The lands were acquired on the ground that these were required for a corporation wholly owned and controlled by the state government.

It is pertinent to recall that during the restructuring of erstwhile PSEB in April 2010,a comprehensive Tripartite Agreement (TPA) was executed between the Government of Punjab, the Management, and all unions and associations of erstwhile PSEB, including the PSEB Engineers’ Association. This TPA was duly notified vide Power Department.

Atwal said that the complete agenda could not be discussed and both parties agreed to schedule a follow-up meeting soon to address the remaining agenda items.