The Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti has accused the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) management of spreading false information regarding privatisation. The employee body also criticised the management for misleading employees about their service conditions.

In a statement issued on Thursday, it presented data suggesting that the privatisation of the Varanasi and Agra electricity discoms could result in the elimination of nearly 68,000 jobs, leading to massive layoffs.

Sangharsh Samiti leaders claimed that the assets of these multi-billion rupee discoms were being sold off at throwaway prices. Despite this, the UPPCL management insists that privatisation is not happening, but the state is only going for a partnership with the private sector.

The body raised concerns over the similar arrangement in Noida Power Company and discoms in Delhi and Odisha, where the private sector holds a majority stake, and a private company manages operations.

The body also criticised the management for claiming that the privatisation of Varanasi and Agra Discoms was based on draft bidding documents issued by the central government in September 2020, which had not been finalised. The body questioned on what basis these two companies were being privatised if the final bidding document had not been issued yet.

Regarding employee service conditions, the body argued that the management was misleading the staff. It pointed out that the Varanasi discom has 17,330 regular employees and 50,000 contract workers, while the Agra discom employs 10,411 regular employees and the same number of contract workers.

The body expressed concerns that regular employees would not accept jobs in private companies, and private companies would not hire contract employees, leaving 68,000 workers facing job loss.

The body dismissed the management’s claim that promotions would not be affected by privatisation as a blatant lie. It highlighted the large number of high-level engineering and supervisory positions in both discoms that would be eliminated following privatisation. It warned that this would lead to widespread demotions and layoffs.

The body also pointed out that many employees had left private companies to join the UPPCL, and sending them back to private companies would be a cruel joke. Regarding voluntary retirement schemes (VRS), the body stressed that employees had come to work, and relying on VRS to sustain their families was not a viable solution.

The body said that the employees will not accept privatisation under any circumstance.