TSSPDCL contract staff stir enters sixth day

Consumer services hit hard as the employees boycott duties

Hyderabad: Consumer services like payment of power bills, installation of new power connections and other regular grievances filed before the Electricity Department were hit hard as the contract workers continued to boycott their duties over their demands pending before the government for the sixth day on Saturday.

The latest round of talks held between the contract workers' union and Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) on Saturday morning failed to find a solution to the demands of the outsourcing workers. The union leaders informed the Discom officials that the workers would not resume their duties unless the government accepted their long-pending demands including regularisation of services and hike in salaries. The officials of the power utilities said the distribution of power bills to the consumers was stopped in many areas in Hyderabad and also in the districts because majority of the contract workers were not attending their duties in the last one week.

Applications for new power connections in the domestic sectors were also piled up in the offices as the verification process has come to a grinding halt.

The Discom officials said the government was not ready to accept the demands put forward by the workers unless they resumed their duties immediately.

The officials warned that if the outsourcing agencies failed to convince their striking contract workers, stern action would be taken against them.