Electricity contract employees begin strike

Vijayawada: YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Tuesday expressed his solidarity with the electricity contract employees who went on a flash strike from midnight on Monday demanding regularisation of their services and abolition of the third party contract system. Addressing the striking electricity contract employees at the Gymkhana grounds here, Jagan alleged that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had reneged on his poll promise to regularise the services of contract employees in the State.

Instead, it was pursuing pro-corporate policies which were detrimental to the interests of the entire workforce, the YSRCP chief said. He promised to raise the issue of regularisation of contract workers during the forthcoming Assembly session. Energy Department Secretary Ajay Jain on Tuesday invited the JAC for talks on December 23 to sort out the issues. Despite the government’s invitation for talks, the JAC had decided to continue the strike.