As per reports, the Chandigarh Powermen Employees Union staged a protest outside the Union Territory (UT) electricity department on Friday (06 December), against the privatisation of the electricity department. The employees alleged that department rules are constantly being disobeyed and that the department is being handed over to a private company.

The protest has taken place despite reassurance from the UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria that the employee benefits will be protected amid the privatisation of Chandigarh’s power sector. The President of the All India State Employees Federation has stated that a strike will start after Friday (13 December).

• The union represents approximately 1000 workers in the electricity sector and has demanded that they remain under government jurisdiction and retain the same service conditions as a government employee.
• Kataria has assured that a new trust will be established under the Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL), and will be governed under the Indian Trust Act, 1882. As a result, it will provide terminal liabilities for the employees that are transferred to CPDL.
• Alongside additional benefits will be covered under the Chandigarh Electricity Reforms Transfer Scheme ensuring that employees’ accrued service benefits, including government entitlements before the transfer, are fully recognised.