Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today directed officials to examine the possibilities of regularizing services of all the outsourcing employees working in the TSTransco, TSGenco and Discoms in a phased manner. He also asked the Electricity Employees Unions to call off their proposed strike and come for a discussion.
The Chief Minister felt that the outsourcing employees, who have been working for several years on nominal salaries, should be regularized on humanitarian grounds and asked the officials to prepare guidelines for this. He also advised the Electricity Employees Unions to call off their proposed strike and come for talks with Power Minister K Jagadeeshwar Reddy on Friday and sort out the problems. In this context, the Chief Minister recalled that salaries of the employees working in Electricity department were increased substantially in the past and salaries of the outsourcing staff were also hiked. However, the State government was ready to settle all the issues of the electricity employees amicably at the table, he said.
The Chief Minister held a review meeting on the issues pertaining to the Electricity Employees at Pragathi Bhavan today. Energy Minister Jagadeeshwar Reddy, TSGenco CMD D Prabhakar Rao, TS SPDCL CMD Raghuma Reddy, TSNPDCL CMD Gopal Rao, and Special Chief Secretary (Energy) Ajay Mishra, CMO Principal Secretaries S Narsing Rao and Shanti Kumari participated in the review meeting.
TSGENCO CMD Prabhakar Rao and other officials informed the Chief Minister that the outsourcing employees were rendering valuable services in the management of Sub-Stations, Power lines, Power Plants as well as handling the administrative work. There was demand for regularization of the out-sourcing employees for a long time. The Chief Minister said the outsourcing employees have been serving the department with low salaries for a long time. On humanitarian consideration, the outsourcing employees will be regularized in a phased manner, he said.
The Chief Minister asked the Electricity employees union not to become party to the strike given on political considerations and prevent inconvenience to the general public by withdrawing strike notice. KCR also asked Energy Minister to invite employees’ unions’ leaders for talks, once they call off the strike. He also asked the minister to solve their problems amicably. (NSS)