In one of the biggest anti-privatisation campaigns, around 15 lakh employees from the critical power sector are protesting today, that is August 18th.
Find out what is the demand of these employees, and why are they protesting?
15 Lakh Power Sector Employees On Protest
On August 18th, 15 lakh employees from different Govt owned power sector companies are protesting against privatization move by the Govt.
This includes engineers as well, and this is indeed big, because engineers are normally away from such protests and demonstrations.
The protests are happening to force Govt to withdraw Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, and stop all sorts of privatization moves.
All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) chairman Shailendra Dubey said, “We will observe Protest Day on August 18 seeking the withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and to oppose the privatisation process of the state power utilities in India,”
The strike has called by National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEEE), which has 15 lakh employees as members.
Which Power Companies Are Getting Privatised?
As of now, Govt has initiated privatisation of several state-owned power distribution companies (discoms).
This includes:
- Making electricity distribution across all Union Territories (UT) as private
- Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam in Varanasi, UP
- Privatisation of three discoms in Odisha: NESCO, WESCO & SOUTHCO
- Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) in Odisha has already been handed over to Tata Power. Protests are on to stop this.
Day Long Protests And Demonstrations Planned
As per the information shared by employee unions, 15 lakh employees from all Govt owned power companies will hold day long protests and demostrations to oppose these privatisation moves.
CMs of 11 states, and 2 Union Territories have also been informed via letter about this massive protest.
As per All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), privatisation moves by Govt in places like Odisha, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Agra, Greater Noida, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar have failed.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.