Powercom contractual staff hold protest

Tribune News Service

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Bathinda, December 18

Members of the Powercom Contractual Employees’ Sangharsh Committee, along with their family members, staged a protest outside the Powercom office in city, demanding regularisation of jobs and release of DA instalments, among other demands.

The protest was conducted at the west zone office of the Powercom. The protesters raised slogans against the state government for failing to fulfil their demands. Family members of the employees, including children, also raised slogans.

Gurvinder Singh, president of the union, said, “The Regularisation of Contractual and Ad hoc Employees Welfare Act, 2016, has not been implemented by the state government till now. Owing to rising unemployment, many youths are falling prey to the drug menace. Workers are not being paid on time by the private firm engaged by the government. We demand that the retrenchment of contractual employees must not be done in the coming months, else we will have to intensify our stir in future.”

Union members said they had not paid skill and fuel allowances. They also demanded that accommodation arrangement be made for workers and safety tools and training for field workers be provided.

“The genuine demands of workers have been lying pending for a long time. The state government and the Powercom department have been exploiting the workers since April 2018. They have not received bonus for the year 2018-2019,” added Singh.