Power employees in Jammu and Kashmir are going on a 48-hour protest leave from September 25, alleging that the government has failed to address their demands.
Sachin Tickoo, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Electrical Engineering Graduates Association of the Power Development Department, said that the government has not made any significant progress on the issues raised by the employees in their protest leave notice served on August 24. He also said that salaries of all 21,000 PDD employees have not been disbursed on time for the month of August.
Tickoo alleged that the government is giving step-motherly treatment to PDD engineers. He said that there are more than 750 vacant posts in the engineering cadre, including the posts of Managing Director, Executive Director, Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers, Executive Engineers, Assistant Ex Engineers, Assistant Engineers, and Junior Engineers. This has led to a situation where many employees are handling multiple charges.
The protest leave has been supported by various other employee associations of PDD. They have appealed to Lieutenant Governor J&K to intervene and direct the competent authority to issue the approvals of the proposals recommended for promotion and regularization of the eligible officers before September 25.
The protest leave is expected to have a significant impact on the power supply in Jammu and Kashmir. The government has urged the employees to reconsider their decision and resume work.
