Letter by Maharashtra Rajya Veej Karmachari, Abhiyante, Adhikari Sangharsh Samiti
(English translation of letter in Marathi)
To,
1) President / Secretary
The Contractual and Out-sourced Workers’ Organisations active in the three electricity companies
2) President / General Secretary
The Contractors’ Organisations active in the three electricity companies
Subject: – Appeal to all the organisations of contract workers and contractors that are active in the three electricity companies to participate in the campaign launched by the Sangharsh Samiti to save the electricity companies
Reference: – The notice given by the Sangharsh Samiti on 14.12.2022 to oppose the state government’s policy regarding privatisation of the electricity industry in Maharashtra
Sir,
The 30 organisations that are active in the electricity industry of Maharashtra have come together and decided to launch a campaign to oppose the process of privatisation that the state government has started at present for the three electricity companies. Thousands of contractual workers have been hired to fill the vacancies in the electricity companies. All the contractual workers work along with the permanent workers. The contractual workers should be made permanent. They should be guaranteed jobs till the age of sixty ad be given equal pay for equal work. When new recruitment is done, they should be given priority. After we struggled for demands like these, the Shri Manoj Ranade Committee and the Smt. Anuradha Bhatia Committee was constituted. All of you know that the report of this Committee has been lying with the government for long.
In the earlier struggle carried out by the Sangharsh Samiti as well as in the ongoing struggle all the organisations participating in the Sangharsh Samiti have, on their own ways, forcefully put forth the demands pertaining to the contractual workers in front of the government. All the organisations active in the electricity companies are insistent about the demands of the contractual workers. The reality is that they have not been able to get justice because of the anti-worker policy of the state government.
At present in the country where the electricity companies have been privatised, the contractual workers have also been kept out of work along with the permanent workers. After privatisation no capitalist will keep either the permanent workers or the contractual workers in service. It is necessary to keep in mind the experience of various sectors regarding this. The fight launched by the electricity workers, engineers and officers is not for any economic demand but to ensure that the electricity industry which is the property of the people of Maharashtra should not go into the hands of private capitalists.
The contractual workers working in the three electricity companies are members of various organisations. All those organisations had accepted the responsibility of involving the contractual and out-sourcing workers in the agitation. Many organisations of the contractual workers have submitted a letter to the government and management about participating in the agitation. Those organisations that have not as yet given a response to the call given by the Sangharsh Samiti should not take a stand of fighting against the Sangharsh Samiti but should participate in the agitation to ensure the future of the electricity companies. This is the appeal that is being made on behalf of the Sangharsh Samiti.
Today in the electricity industry, hundreds of contractors / institutions are taking up the work of photometer readings, daily maintenance, the work of constructing infrastructure facilities, and of supplying manpower. The Sangharsh Samiti is appealing to those contractors / institutions as well as to their associations and organisations that they too should join the struggle and cooperate. This is the appeal that is being made.
Thank you and expecting cooperation!
For information, the program of agitation decided by the Sangharsh Samiti
1) Gate meeting across Maharashtra on 12th December 2022
2) On 14 December 2022
i) Submission of representation to Hon’ble Minister, MPs, MLAs, Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Panchayat Samitis, Zila Parishads, Gram Panchayat members
ii) Submission of representation to social, consumer, farmer and labor unions
iii) Conducting gate meetings across Maharashtra
3) Gate meeting across Maharashtra on 16th December 2022
4) Indefinite non-cooperation movement with the management of the three companies on 19 December 2022
i) Stop the recovery of dues
ii) Depositing of the SIM card of the company with the administration
iii) Depositing of mobile phones of sub-centres, not answering calls at branch offices
5) Huge Morcha to Nagpur Assembly on 23 December 2022
6) Gate meeting across Maharashtra on 29th December 2022
7) Large Morcha on 2 January 2023 at Thane District Magistrate Office
8) 72 hours strike on 4th January 2023
9) Gate meeting across Maharashtra on 16th January 2023
10) Indefinite strike on 18 January 2023 from 00.00 hrs.
Yours sincerely,
Maharashtra Rajya Veej Karmachari, Abhiyante, Adhikari Sangharsh Samiti