For the second time in two weeks, the outsourced employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) working as Complaint Handling Bike and Complaint Handling Wagon staff staged a statewide demonstration outside the residence of power minister Sanjeev Arora in Ludhiana on Friday.
They have been demanding regular jobs.
The protesting workers carried out a march from the Verka Milk Plant to the residence of the power minister, causing traffic disruptions along the route. The march, which began around 1 pm on Friday afternoon, saw hundreds of outsourced PSPCL workers from across Punjab shouting slogans and waving union flags as they marched through the Ferozepur road.
Reportedly, the workers who are responsible to carry out redressal of complaints registered on 1912, maintenance works and faults repair of critical electricity lines across Punjab, are on indefinite strike since Thursday midnight under the banner of Powercom and Transco Contractual Workers’ Union, after their scheduled meeting with power minister was cancelled.
Balihar Singh, state president of the union, said, “Earlier, we had staged a protest outside the power minister’s residence on October 28 that continued till midnight, demanding regularisation of jobs. During the protest, the minister remained unavailable for any negotiation, following which the district administration facilitated a telephonic conversation with him. It was during this call that a meeting between the minister and the union was scheduled for November 6. However, the meeting was cancelled at the last minute without any prior notice, leaving us with no option but to go on strike.
Following today’s strike, another meeting has been scheduled for November 10 in Chandigarh. If the meeting does not take place on November 10 or 11, we will launch a statewide agitation in Ludhiana again. Until then, our indefinite strike will continue,” Singh stated.
The union’s demands primarily focus on job regularisation, adequate safety measures and withdrawal of privatisation policy, along with rejecting the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025, which they believe will hand over public utilities to corporate interests.
The workers are demanding that all outsourced and contractual employees be absorbed directly into the department, and that the families of workers who lost their lives due to electrocution be provided with permanent jobs, pensions and adequate compensation.
The union highlighted the lack of safety measures within the department. Due to the absence of safety kits and poor work conditions, more than 400 contractual workers have lost their lives due to electrocution, while hundreds have been permanently disabled. Yet, no family has been given employment, pension, or adequate compensation by the government or management.