CHANDIGARH: In an online meeting organised under the banner of the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) , the president and general secretaries of state constituents pledged solidarity with UP’s power sector employees in their fight against privatisation. Engineers from 20 states shall join the chain fast from May 2 to May 9 at Lucknow.
On the day of participation by a state constituting a chain fast, there will be a protest rally in that state on the same day. Ajaypal Singh Atwal informed that PSPCL engineers will participate on May 7.
The online meeting was attended by the representatives from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttrakhand, Telangana, west Bengal, Madhya Pradesh , Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Orissa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat , Uttar Pradesh and others.
The meeting, held Sunday evening , was addressed by Shailendra Dubey, Chairman AIPEF. He detailed the ongoing developments related to power privatisation and the employees’ agitation.The move could eventually put 20, 000 jobs at risk.
Uttar Pradesh Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti leaders condemned the victimisation of various employees by way of transfers, restricting their social media activities, and threatening staff with less favourable conditions after privatisation.
AIPEF passed a resolution demanding Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s intervention to cancel the appointment of a black listed consultant accused of submitting forged documents in the privatisation process.
V K Gupta informed that the AIPEF is actively opposing the privatization of electricity utilities and departments across India. They have called for a nationwide strike on June 26th to protest the government's plans, particularly the privatization of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (PVVNL) and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (DVVNL) in Uttar Pradesh.