Punjab power minister appeals to PSPCL employees to end strike

Chandigarh, Aug 11 (PTI) Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh on Monday appealed to employees of state-owned power utility PSPCL to end their strike and return to work immediately in view of the larger public interest.

The employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited went on a three-day strike from Monday to press the state government for various demands, including the release of pending dearness allowance and restoring the old pension scheme.

In a statement, the minister emphasised that ensuring uninterrupted power supply is crucial for households, agriculture, and industrial sectors.

Hence, the agitating employees should resume their duties, Singh said, adding prolonged strikes could cause significant hardship to millions of consumers.

He assured the employees that the state government has shown utmost sincerity and responsiveness in addressing their concerns.

Singh said a crucial meeting was convened on August 10 between the PSPCL administration and representatives of the Powercom employees, chaired jointly by him and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema.

During the deliberations, the PSPCL administration gave its consent to accept almost all key demands put forth by the employees.

The demands also include the creation of new posts and filling of existing vacancies, an increase in ex gratia amount, provision of cashless medical facilities, release of pending allowances, clearance of overdue overtime payments for grid substation staff and some cases of pension revisions, he said.

The government also promised special attention towards repairing and maintaining PSPCL buildings, Singh added.

"Given that most of the demands have been addressed, it is now neither fair nor reasonable for employees to continue the strike," said the minister. PTI CHS NSD NSD