After months of unrest, Punjab CM meets agitating power engineers

Engineers, however, have consistently maintained that the action was arbitrary and failed to take into account systemic and policy level issues. During the course of agitation, several other issues had also cropped up. These included the optimum utilisation of vacant government-owned land (OUVGL), under which over 50 PSPCL properties have been earmarked, and the state government’s lack of a clear response to the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which employees fear could weaken the public power sector, maintained PSEBEA. It may be recalled that PSEBEA, along with other unions of PSPCL, had formed a Joint Action Committee of power sector employees, engineers and pensioners in December last year which has been holding zone wise protest rallies across the state.

The most recent rally concluded in Jalandhar on January 20. Such joint agitation of power sector employees had not taken place earlier in the past decade, maintained PSEBEA. Before announcing the next course of action, the association managed to secure an appointment with the chief minister.

Employees in their protest rallies had also been alleging political interference in the functioning of PSPCL, which they argue is an autonomous body and should be allowed to operate independently on professional lines. According to members present at the meeting, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann gave the delegation a patient hearing and assured them that their issues would be looked into and resolved. However, no official timeline or concrete decisions were announced immediately after the meeting.

PSEBEA sources also pointed out that this was not the first interaction between the association and the chief minister, but earlier meetings were largely ceremonial. In January 2024, the association had met the CM to express gratitude over the takeover of the Goindwal Sahib Thermal Plant, while in 2023, Bhagwant Mann had been invited as the chief guest at the annual general body meeting of PSEBEA. The present meeting, however, comes against a backdrop of heightened discontent within the power sector. Engineers argue that unresolved issues, coupled with disciplinary action against senior officers,have demoralised the workforce.