TS Transco CMD urges power utility employees to withdraw stir

D Prabhakar Rao appealed to the Telangana State Power Employees Joint Action Committee to withdraw its call for an indefinite strike from April 17 and said the management was ready to hold talks with them to resolve the issue

Hyderabad: TS Transco & Genco Chairman and Managing Director D Prabhakar Rao on Monday appealed to the Telangana State Power Employees Joint Action Committee (TSPEJAC) to withdraw its call for an indefinite strike from April 17 and said the management was ready to hold talks with them to resolve the issue.

The employees, artisans and pensioners of the power utilities are seeking revision of pay and allowances, provision of pension and GPF facility to employees recruited between February 1, 1999 and August 31, 2004 on par with State government employees and other issues related to artisans.

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In a letter addressed to the Union, Prabhakar Rao said after formation of the State, two pay revisions were announced for the employees of power utilities and fitment benefits of 30 percent and 35 percent were given during 2014 and 2018 respectively, apart from extending service weight-ages and other fringe benefits.

In spite of enormous increase in financial commitments borne by way of employee cost over the period, the management had offered six percent fitment benefit to all the employees including Artisans and Pensioners, which might result in an additional financial commitment of around Rs.526 crore per annum, he said. The salaries and other benefits paid to the employees of the power utilities were on the higher side when compared to salaries paid to the employees of other corporations and Public Sector Undertakings of State and Power Utilities in other States, he said.

Since Yasangi season was underway, there was a need for uninterrupted quality power supply to the farmers in order to save the crops, he said, adding that the SSC Board Examinations and many competitive examinations of the Public Service Commission and other entities were going on and any sort of power disruption would cause inconvenience to all sections of the society including farmers.

Prabhakar Rao said the management was ready to hold talks with the union leaders to resolve their issues.

Employees of the electricity department had recently announced their decision to go on a strike from April 17, to press for a salary hike backdated from April 1, 2022, as per the Pay Revision Commission’s suggestions. Field-level employees have also listed a 29-point demand, including the implementation of a single master scale, personal pay and medical facilities, among other demands.