https://www.india-briefing.com/news/workplace-injury-compensation-india-11077.

html/

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/XJM-06-2020-0014/full/html

https://www.ritimo.org/Historic-Strike-by-Electricity-Workers-in-Uttar-Pradesh-India

FOIR Draft 1

PBC Power Corporation located in Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh. PBC Power Corporation is the only power
corporation around Jabalpur that generates 2000 MV and distributes electricity for localities around.
PBC Power Corporation is involved in Thermal Power Generation, Hydro Generation, and
Transmission and Distribution.

In 2005, 75% of employees were permanent, 25% were hired on contract. PBC Power Corporation had
a total of about 2,065 employees, out of which 1413 were regular workers (on company payroll non-
managerial positions) and, 517 were contract workers. The Company workforce was divided into four
types of Group, called as, A, B, C and D group, depending on types of work. In total, 7% of the total
workforce Constituted women in C and D categories that referred to non-managerial positions as blue
color categories. The Remaining 135 employees out of 2065 held supervisory and managerial
positions.
PBC Power Corporation was in deep financial crisis and on the edge of bankruptcy, with accumulated
losses, increasing debt, and increasing power shortages. There were many reasons for the
improvement of such a crisis, mismanagement. Partly it was due to poor and inefficient governance,
red tapism, Bureaucratic approach, poor management and regulatory practice, poor metering and
billing, manual calculation, book keeping and lack of accountability for leakages in the system, and
the need for ensuring rural electrification and distribution on low-power transmission lines.

Gradually more workers were retiring; August 2005 Local management decides to hire more Contract
employees and women employee to get benefit of cost- cutting and recently hired good number of
local contract workers.
The monthly wage for a contract worker ranges from Rs. 9326 for unskilled workers to Rs.11574 for
skilled workers, which was as per the minimum wages declared by the government.
Lakshmi was a blue-collar unskilled Contract workers joined a year back. She doesn’t enjoy the benefits
of what the permanent employees do. She was the only breadwinner for her family with earning
capacity of Rs. 9326 minimum wages

End of 2006 on 01st of Nov Government announces public sector electrical corporation to be privatized
w.e.f 01 April 2008 to feed the growing electricity demands, reduce manual work, and increase the
revenue for the Jabalpur district power distribution unit.

PBC Power Corporation decides to layoff the Contract unskilled workers to hire some skilled worker
and automated machines, ERP tools, computers to remove manual work and speed up the transaction
in the office and to facilitate smooth workflow.
Lakshmi along with other Contract workers are devastated about their loss of employment. Lakshmi
comes from a rural socio backward community. PBC Power Corporation is the only viable job
opportunity.

She then approaches Shakthikanth who is like her father figure. Shakthikanth is quite popular among the
Contract workers because of his kind gestures, communication and influencing power. Due to
Shakthikanth help they formed a Plant level Kamgar Union was constituted by contract workers” and
gradually he formed an Industry level union of Contract workers by June 2007. On 1 st May 2007 on the
occasion of Labor Day Shakthikanth addressed this issue in a public gathering and in presence of
Media. So he became popular, and was able to form Union on to Industry Level. Due to his influential
addressing power he got affiliated to Electricity Employees Federation of India for support.

The union lead by Shakthikanth decides to approach the management and to ask justice for the
Contract workers unfair treatment.

Rasbihari was also a part of the same trade union. He was jealous of Shakthikanth’s popularity. While
Shakthikath was talking to the management, Rasbihari instigates the Contract workers that only strike
can give them justice.

The young Contract (Contract) workers got violent during the strike, the strike started disrupting the
normal services of the power terminal, and they also burnt a car in the proceedings and started
damaging public and office properties.

Mr Ratnakar Despande (Head of human resources of PBC Power Corporation ) received a call from Mr.
Patnayak Mondal (Director, HR, PBC Power Corporation) located at the headquarters, for organization
re- structure of PBC Power Corporation) due to upcoming changes. He had received a written
complaint of the disruption caused by Contract workers and non-social element at Jabalpur power
terminal and instructed him to resolve the issues on a top priority basis without any further casualty.
Mr Ratnakar Despande (Head of human resources PBC Power Corporation.) was unable to think and
act on the situation; he was thinking how to save the company from such a disorderly situation
without any further loss of production, property and manpower cost liabilities.

Management got furious and decided to lock out. Essential commodity act (water, power, telecom,
medicine etc)

Further: discussed to use Tripartial settlement and Collective bargaining

Involvement of political leader along with Rasbihari

Workers get to know about their selfish acts. Lose trust.

Rasbihari suspended.

Contract Labour Act 1970 (Abolition and Regulation)

withdraw from the contract agreed upon at any point of time before its due date of

expiry?
Indian National Electricity Workers' Federation

Electricity Employees Federation of India

State Electricity Boards (SEBs)

Because of privatization permanent skilled employee were also in fear, so they also
started supporting……..

In FFGGGGGG, the MP Powermen Joint Action Committee (MPPJAC), consisting of

engineers, staff and operators, decided to go on strike if the board was restructured.
Nonetheless

As four of the state’s six power plants shut down and power shortages
spread, the Uttar Pradesh government declared the strike illegal and
requested that the national government deploy troops outside power
installations. Six union leaders were detained and 1,700 employees
put under house arrest. Houses of striking employees were raided and
people were picked up for questioning by the state police.

Even as negotiations between the government and UPSEB employees

continued, the government terminated services of 208 striking
engineers and declared that there would be no going back on the
trifurcating of the Board

The signatories of strike/work boycott notice are All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), All
India Federation of Power Diploma Engineers (AIFPDE), All India Electricity Employees Federation
(AITUC), Electricity Employees Federation of India (CITU), Indian National Electricity Workers
Federation (INTUC), All India Power Mens Federation and some independent worker unions in other
states,

In a separate statement, the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) also condemned the arrest of its
Chairman Shailendra Dubey and other engineers and employees leaders on Monday when they were
proceeding for a candlelight march after a protest meeting against privatization of Varanasi Discom, in
Lucknow.

Immediately, hundreds of employees gave court arrest in Lucknow. As soon as the news of the arrest spread,
hundreds of employees offered arrest in different parts of the state, it added.

Prasanta Nandi Chowdhury, National Convenor of the National Co-ordination Committee of Electricity
Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE)