Leaders of the Andhra Pradesh State Power Employees Joint Action Committee (APSPEJAC) on Tuesday demanded that employees of the Electricity Department be recognised as frontline workers and administered vaccine, irrespective of age and also a grant of ₹50 lakh towards ex gratia to the families of 500 employees who succumbed to the virus.
In a memorandum submitted to the Minister for Energy Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, the employees representatives said they would boycott the ‘COVID Awards’ until their demands were met.
Referring to the wage negotiation agreed between the unions and the managements of power utilities, they took exception to the comparison being drawn between the State Government employees’ pay structure and that of the Electricity employees. Citing fundamental differences like high risk jobs, nature of work, work hours and locations, they alleged that attempts were being made to alter their benefits.
They said to oppose the management’s move, they would launch a postcard campaign by writing one lakh postcards/letters to the Chief Minister and the Energy Minister, urging them to settle the issues without any further delay. They said if the government failed to pay heed to their demands, they would further intensify their protest in a peaceful manner.
