Punjab cabinet minister Aman Arora on Sunday appealed to the protesting power sector employees to call off their strike and return to work, assuring them that all genuine demands will be met by the government.
Event Context
Speaking to the media in Sunam, the Punjab Aam Aadmi Party president said around 18,500 employees, accounting for approximately 90% of the staff, were participating in the strike, causing hardship to nearly 3 crore consumers across the state.
Arora said the chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led government had already accepted several demands of the employees, including providing jobs to thousands of youth and regularising temporary workers.
“Regarding the remaining issues, a special committee was constituted about three weeks ago, strictly on the demand of the power employee unions, including representatives from finance, power and personnel departments, along with four representatives from the unions themselves,” the minister said.
With discussions with the committee still underway, the employees should not have gone on strike before negotiations concluded, he said, highlighting that the disruption was severely affecting the public, particularly farmers during the crucial paddy sowing season.
Match Outlook
He assured the workers that chief minister Bhagwant Mann, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and power minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond were actively monitoring the situation. He reiterated that any reasonable recommendations made by the committee will be accepted by the state government.
“This tactic of pressuring the government by causing hardship to the public will not yield results,” Arora said. “I request you to return to work. Both the government and the power workers are public servants. Please do not harass the common people and farmers.”
Regarding the protesting sanitation workers, Arora said most of their key demands had already been fulfilled. Advising them to consult the minister concerned for any remaining issues, he urged the unions to avoid using upcoming elections as leverage, assuring that legitimate demands can be resolved through dialogue without resorting to strikes.
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Since July 21, outsourced employees posted at Suvidha Kendras, the 1912 National Call Centre (NCC), Customer Redressal Centres, meter laboratories, stores and other consumer service units have been on an indefinite strike, affecting complaint registration and ground operations across the state.
Regular technical employees are already on mass leave, leaving senior officers, including sub-divisional officers (SDOs) and executive engineers (XENs), to supervise substations and attend critical breakdowns.
