STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Electrical Engineering Graduates Association (JKEEGA) has declared a 48-hour work boycott protest, commencing on 25th September.
This move comes in response to the persistent lack of progress on key issues previously highlighted in a protest leave notice served on 24th August 2023.
The General Council meeting held on 9th September unanimously resolved to implement a 48-hour protest leave program starting on 25th September.
This decision stems from the government’s failure to address the significant delay in filling vacant positions across the department’s hierarchy, severely affecting the morale of its officers and hindering the delivery of public services and grievance redressal.
The situation has worsened over the past two months, as salaries have not been disbursed on time, leaving all 21,000 Power Development Department (PDD) employees without their August salaries.
During a press conference held at the Press Club today, JKEEGA’s President, Sachin Tickoo, highlighted the ongoing neglect by the authorities within the Power Development Department.
Tickoo emphasized that more than 750 vacancies exist in the engineering cadre, with crucial positions such as Director, Executive Director, Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers, Executive Engineers, Assistant Engineers, and Junior Engineers remaining unfilled. This has led to a situation where multiple responsibilities are being shouldered by individual employees, disrupting service delivery.
Furthermore, the promotion process across all cadres has been stalled for months, adversely affecting officers’ careers and creating cumulative issues down the line. For instance, the promotion of L.K. Bhat, Executive Chief Engineer, was recommended by the administrative department in March but has been pending for over three months. This backlog of promotions is causing severe repercussions within the department.
The situation is compounded by the overburdening of employees due to additional charges. Chief Engineer (Distribution) Kashmir has been assigned the additional charge of Chief Engineer (Transmission) Kashmir, which is unreasonable. Similarly, Superintending Engineer Kathua has been given additional charge of Superintending Engineer Jammu, despite this issue being previously highlighted.
In response to these pressing issues, JKEEGA has served a notice to the administration. The General Council of JKEEGA, representing both Jammu and Kashmir regions, has resolved that engineers of the J&K Power Development Department will submit a joint protest leave application on 25th and 26th September 2023. They will gather at POD Complex Gladni Jammu and Bemina, Srinagar on 25th September to register a peaceful protest and abstain from work for 48 hours. Additionally, engineers with assigned additional charges will submit a joint representation to the government requesting relief from these additional responsibilities for the effective functioning of the department and Power Corporations.
Various employee leaders from the Power Development Department, including Lalit Sharma, Diploma Engineers Association; Tarun Gupta, Provincial Power Employees Union; Ashiq Hussain, Lineman and Workers Union; ID Singh, Clinical Employees Federation; Gurmeet Singh, Bishan Singh, PEEU; Akhil Kumar, PTDJ, and other Workers’ Unions have extended their unconditional support to JKEEGA’s call for a complete 48-hour protest and work abstention.
JKEEGA appealed to the Lieutenant Governor of J&K to intervene and direct the competent authorities to approve the proposals for promotion and regularization of eligible employees before the specified date.