Distress among field staff of Discoms over transfer policy

This is a departure from previous guidelines, which allowed for longer periods before transfers.

Hyderabad: The electricity employees of Telangana, particularly the operations and maintenance staff on the field including senior line inspectors, line inspectors, linemen, assistant lineman, and junior linemen are facing significant distress due to the recent general transfer policy implemented by the Southern Power Distribution Company (SPDC) and Northern Power Distribution Company (NPDCL). Leaders from trade unions have indicated that while the office staff are relatively unaffected, the field staff are bearing the brunt of these changes.

The management of SPDCL and NPDCL has decided to transfer employees with just two years of service. This is a departure from previous guidelines, which allowed for longer periods before transfers. Some field staff with as little as one and a half years of service are also being transferred, causing considerable disruption.

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The transfers of Operation and Maintenance (O&M) staff are not aligned with the state government’s guidelines, which stipulate that transfers should occur after four years of service. This discrepancy has led to severe hardships for nearly 23,000 field workers. These workers require almost a year to familiarize themselves with the services, distribution of transformers, and feeders at a new location. Frequent transfers not only disrupt their work but also pose safety risks and create difficulties for their families.

Trade union leaders, who have spoken out against the transfer policy, report being targeted for their opposition. They argue that the frequent transfers lead to accidents and operational inefficiencies. The unions are calling for a revision of the guidelines to make at least three years of service mandatory before transfers.

The State government and the management of the discoms are being urged to review and reconsider the transfer policy. The affected employees are planning to take to the streets to press their demands. They appealed to the state leaders and company officials, particularly from the Nalgonda district, to address this pressing issue.