North India Power Engineers body support striking UP engineers
VINOD KUMAR GUPTA
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
CHANDIAGRH: Northern India Power Engineers Federation has urged the Uttar Pardesh Government to urgently negotiate the revised pay structure for power sector employees and engineers and restore normalcy.

HS Bedi President NIPEF in a letter to Chief Minister Uttar Pardesh has said that in case of any repressive measures against engineers and employees are taken the agitation would spread to other states of the region. The power sector employees and engineers are on not doing any work after their negotiations with government on the revised pay scales failed.

Meanwhile Sandeep Pandey General Secretary of Vidhyut Karamchari Sangharsh samiti said on phone that it has been decided been decided that power employees will court arrest en masse in the event of the union leaders or other employees being victimised or put in jail. The agitation would be further intensified further and power system in the state might be crippled.

The Samiti's threat comes in the wake of strong rumours which did the round on Monday that three office bearers viz Shailendra Dubey, Baboo Awasthi and Badruddin Rana had been arrested and whisked to an unknown destination by the police. But Shaliender Dubey told Punjab News line on phone that they had gone underground to pre-empt being arrested.

Sandeep Pandey further said around 45,000 power employees and engineers have resorted to work boycott since January 1 to press for their demand regarding wage revision in consonance with the Sixth pay commission. The boycott has led to the power breakdowns remaining unattended and the revenue realization being adversely affected.

To deal with the situation the government has requisitioned the services of the engineers and technical staff of NTPC and the Power Grid of India. While they were deployed at Anpara and Obra power stations the security at all the power sub-stations in the state was further strengthened.