Power strike called off, UP govt to revoke actions against staff

LUCKNOW: Protesting UP power employees called off their strike on Sunday after the state government agreed to "look into their demands" and revoke actions - lodging FIRs, suspension of engineers and termination of services of 1,330 contractual staff - initiated against the employees who were part of the stir that threatened to push the state into a severe power crisis.
Convener of Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti (VKSSS), Shailendra Dubey, claimed that the state government has "accepted" their demands and promised not to take "any action" against the employees. UP power minister AK Sharma, too, appealed to the employees to go back to work and attend to the problems at the power generating units and electricity sub-stations. Sharma said that the state government held multiple rounds of talks with employees' union which eventually ended the stalemate. He confirmed that the actions initiated against the employees would be rolled back.
The development came less than 24 hours before the protesting employees were to appear before the Allahabad HC which had issued bailable warrants against the office bearers of the VKSSS, the umbrella union of the protesting employees, requiring them to be present before the court on Monday.
On Friday, the high court had expressed serious displeasure over the ongoing protest by the UP power employees despite its December 2022 order that the power supply should not be disrupted due to the employees’ strike. The stir by the employees saw multiple power generation units getting shut – stoking an electricity crisis that threatened to escalate into a law and order problem. The alarming situation prompted the state government to deploy police at the generating units and sub-stations. Even as the power employees refused to budge from their aggressive stance, the state government invoked National Security Act (NSA) and registered cases against the employees under the Essential Services Maintenance Act.
The crisis is reported to have riled CM Yogi Adityanath, who, on Saturday, summoned Sharma and senior officials of the power department to his official residence. Yogi, who is learnt to have expressed his serious displeasure over the prevailing situation, had asked the officials to resolve the crisis “as soon as possible”. Announcing the withdrawal of strike, Shailendra Dubey, convener of Vidyut Karmacharis Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, said, “A number of rounds of talks were held (with the government).
We raised our problems and the (energy) minister agreed positively to fix them. “Respecting the directions of the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath), the positive dialogue with the energy minister, respecting the high court, we have decided to call off our 72-hour symbolic protest one day in advance in view of massive public interest.” The power employees had started their strike on Friday in protest of irregular pay compensation and failure of the state government in appointing UPPCL chairman through a selection process to meet specific requirements. The employees have also been demanding doing away with the arrangement of outsourcing the upkeep of transmission substations.