M A I N   N E W S

PSEB employees call off strike
Power sector back on track in Punjab
Jangveer Singh/TNS

Chandigarh, April 16
The SAD-BJP “unbundled” its fears yesterday to give a new lease of life to the erstwhile PSEB. Today it won the battle of the mind by prevailing upon the employees of the restructured entity to call a truce. It will be business as usual for the employees and the people of the state from tomorrow.

The Joint Forum of the PSEB employees has decided not to extend the two-day strike call given by it following a meeting with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today. Forum spokesman Manjit Singh Chahal said the Chief Minister had assured them that all their apprehensions would be removed. They have also been assured that the service conditions of employees would not be changed and that the two new companies would not be privatised in any manner.

With the Joint Forum, to which a majority of the employees are affiliated, coming on board, the other factions of employees, including the Technical Services Union (Bhangal) and Employee Federation (AITUC) group, have also decided not to extend the strike call. Group spokesman Amrik Singh Masita admitted that it would be difficult to continue with the strike without support from the Joint Forum. He, however, maintained that the government had not promised anything concrete to the employees.

Meanwhile, a confident Chief Minister today “thanked the erstwhile board employees for their symbolic protest”. He also announced that a four-member committee had been constituted to sort out all contentious issues and submit its report within a month.

According to sources, the government moved quickly to put an alternative system in place making the restructuring a fait accompli. Simultaneously, it countered the striking employees by effectively disseminating its views, ensuring the employees had no support from the general public.

The government had been preparing for the restructuring of the PSEB for the past five months. It is due to this that the notification forming the two new companies — Powercom and Transco — was released today and the new companies will become functional in another two days.

The Chief Minister acted decisively and even agreed to ‘sacrifice’ PSEB Chairman HS Brar when it was felt that age rules would have to be framed especially to accommodate him. Similarly, he did not appoint Brar or other Members of the PSEB, who were over 60 years of age, in the new managing committee that has taken over the two companies.

The government also engaged in a heavy-handed psychological warfare without going ahead with its threats. It made it known that it was preparing jails in case of large-scale arrests, buying sticks and tear gas shells.