Employees of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), who had begun an indefinite protest against increased workloads, have temporarily withdrawn their protest. They were assured by the chairman and managing director of TANGEDCO that there would be a meeting with the Electricity Minister Thangam Thennarasu tomorrow, that is, 12 July 2024. Notices have also been issued to the finance and electricity departments, along with TANGEDCO to fill vacant posts.
The Central Organisation of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Employees (COTEE), affiliated to the CITU, had called for the protest to draw attention to the plight of the employees. The mounting workload due to shortage of staff also increases the risk of mishaps and accidents for the wiremen and ad hoc workers in the field. As TANGEDCO follows the practice of outsourcing work to external workers, the quality of work is adversely affected, which, as the protestors have been pointing out, will tarnish the reputation of TANGEDCO in the long run.
The protesting employees have sought that the organisation take immediate steps to fill up the 53,000 vacant posts, as inaction in this regard is increasing the workload of the existing employees. There are reportedly more than 33,000 vacancies at the field level, including that of field assistants, junior assistants, technical assistants and assistant engineers. This is in addition to the 20,000 other vacant posts.
While TANGEDCO tried to seek the Madras High Court’s intervention to stop the protest, the latter ordered the former to face the employees and give them answers. The Madras High Court has also asked for issue of notices to the secretaries of the finance and energy departments, demanding a response in 10 days.
