As many as 68 employees of the AP Southern Power Distribution Company Limited from Kurnool and Anantapur districts, who were transferred to the Telangana Northern Power Distribution Company Limited on Tuesday, in lieu of as many employees from there posted in the AP Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited, strongly opposed the action and threatened to go on strike.
At a press conference here on Wednesday, Divisional Engineer (operations) Sampath Kumar, who is the leader of the SC, ST Employees' Union, along with others, said that 10 out of the 68 transferred on Tuesday were from among the SC/ST communities.
As per the provisions of the A.P. Reorganisation Act and recommendations of the Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari One-Man Committee these employees needed to be posted wherever they choose.
“The current transfer is flawed in more than in one manner and we will challenge it in the court of law if it was not withdrawn,” said Mr. Sampath Kumar.
“If the SC/ST employees desire to continue at their existing place they should be retained there as per the Supreme Court order in this matter,” another leader of the union, Srinivasulu, said and sought to know as to why people from the EPDCL of AP were not transferred to NPDCL of the Telangana State.
Kurnool and Anantapur districts were previously connected to Central Power Distribution Company Limited and have no connection with the newly created NPDCL during bifurcation.
“We had opted for joining SPDCL of AP and when the Andhra Pradesh employees in NPDCL had opted to go to EPDCL, people from there should have been sent to NPDCL,” he opined.
Even a committee was formed to redress the grievances of the SPDCL employees, no representative from this company has been made part of it, they pointed out.
Expressing their reluctance to go to Telangana companies, they said the reason was even those transferred earlier were not given postings.
