Plagued by back ache,slip discs and heart ailments,the employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) majority of whom are above 40 and 20,000 above 50 are demanding the recruitment of young and energetic staff at the earliest. Around 52,000 employees are on the rolls of PSPCL,that includes the clerical cadre and field staff. The last recruitment drive had taken place in 1997. The employees,who are in their 50s,are not as active as young boys. Many suffer from ailments. Moreover,PSPCL has not equipped us with modern equipment like cranes and safety belts that can help us reach the transformers and towers within no time, said Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) Karamchari Dal General Secretary Parkash Singh Mann. According to sources,most of the middle-aged employees refuse to climb ladders to reach poles or transformers. Those who agree to do it,do so at their own pace. As a result,at times,even the staff from the complaint centre is used as helpers or else,the consumer waits for hours to get the fault repaired. The employees union have taken up these issues with the management as well as the government a number of times,said Mann. Karamchand Bhardwaj,General Secretary of PSEB Joint Forum,said: Though tests have been held to recruit linemen,the 5,000 employees who have cleared the test are yet to get appointment letters. In the paddy season,they tried to outsource labour,which we opposed. Now,the contract of all those employees will end by September 30. Though Chairman-cum-Managing Director of PSPCL,K D Chaudhary,admitted that they need young employees for faster redressal of complaints ,but so far,no deadline has been given regarding the new appointments. The employees union has hinted that there is a shortage of over 25,000 employees.
