Trade unions protest Tangedco’s move to downsize manpower

CHENNAI: Upset with the proposal to downsize manpower, members of various trade unions of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation marched to Rajarathinam Stadium via Anna Salai seeking the chief minister’s intervention to fill up 60,000 vacant posts and long pending wage revision talks.

On Monday, Tangedco wrote to trade unions saying that it stands second in the country concerning employee cost at Rs 1.20 per unit citing a report published by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on the performance of power utilities for 2020-21. “In order to optimise the employee cost as per the industry standards, Tangedco and TANTRANSCO shall take appropriate measures to right-size the manpower,” it said.

It also said employees and officers of both Tangedco and Tantransco would get a 6 per cent hike in their basic pay with effect from December 1, 2019, and one weightage increment at 3 per cent for those who completed 25 years in service.

CITU-affiliated Central Organisation of Tamil Nadu Electricity Employees President T Jaishankar said that 20,000 employees participated in the rally after being agitated over the written proposal given by the management.

“There are over 60,000 vacancies in various cadres including 35,000 vacancies in the field categories that ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers. We are demanding that Tangedco recruit field workers to reduce the workload, put an end to accidents happening due to work burden and attend to consumer complaints on time. About 5000 persons who were selected for the gangman posts during the AIADMK government should be appointed to fill up field-level vacancies,” he said.

He said all the unions were strongly opposed to Tangedco’s proposal to “right size manpower” which is nothing but outsourcing various works. “We believe it is a step towards privatisation,” he said.

The rally by the unions led to traffic congestion on the Anna Salai and Rukmani Lakshmipathy Salai on Tuesday. Consumers who went to pay their electricity bills have to return without paying as the counters remained closed in several places owing to protests.