BATHINDA: With the
Punjab cabinet deciding on Wednesday to stop operartions of all four units of the 460MW Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP),
Bathinda, from January 1, members of the plant's workers' union said they feared many of them might lose their jobs because of the step.
The cabinet's assurance that services of regular and contractual employees would not be terminated has not laid to rest any fears. GNDTP Employees' Union president
Gursewak Singh said many of them, especially contractual workers, would be retrenched after some time of being transferred to other plants. "We will be transferred to faraway places before being shown the door. The plant employs 950 staffers, including nearly 750 contractual employees who get Rs 6,500 to Rs 7,500 per month.
Last month, the employees' union approached the Punjab and
Haryana high court against the move to shut down the plant. The matter will be heard on January 19. "We have no faith in the state government. Before elections,
Congress promised not to shut down the plant. It has gone back on its promise; we fear it may cheat employees by making retrenchments in small phases after sometime," he said. "We will protest against this."
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