Electricity Workers to Hold Massive Protest in Sector 17 on January 30th and Observe Black Day on January 31st.

Chandigarh Electricity Workers to Hold Massive Protest in Sector 17 on January 30th and Observe Black Day on January 31st.

Chandigarh 16 January ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : Electricity employees of Chandigarh will hold a massive protest in Sector 17 on January 30, 2026, and observe a Black Day on January 31, 2026, to protest against the illegal transfer of government electricity employees working under the Chandigarh administration to the private company Eminent without their consent. This decision was taken at a meeting of the union's principal office bearers in Sector 18.

The meeting strongly condemned the working style of the Chandigarh administration officials and alleged that on January 31st of last year, the profitable electricity department was directly sold to a private company, and 349 employees were made scapegoats and forced into the private company Eminent despite their protests, which is a dark chapter in the history of the country.

The meeting alleged that the then Chief Engineer (Civil), in collusion with the Superintendent Engineer brought in from Haryana, hatched a deep conspiracy, betrayed the employees, and misled the government and senior officials by implementing a flawed tender system.

In 2022, the officials had acknowledged their mistake and promised to rectify it, but unfortunately, the current Chief Engineer and the officers working under him are repeating the same mistake and handing over not only electricity distribution but also transmission to a private company, even though the notification of January 31, 2025, stated that the transmission assets would not be handed over to the company. However, that notification is also being disregarded, and preparations are underway to hand over the assets to the private company before January 31, 2026, even though the company does not even have a transmission license. The concerned officials of the department are also arguing for legally retaining the transmission assets and are demanding additional staff for STU, SLDC, EI, and SDA, but their arguments are also being rejected. 

The union meeting also discussed that if the 11-66 kV, 5-33 kV, and 1-220 kV substations had remained under government control until the formation of the government company, more than 250 employees could have been accommodated. However, the officials were more concerned about the company than the employees. Therefore, only 43 employees and officers of their choosing were retained for STU, SLDC, EI, and SDA, who had only 10-15 years of service in the department. On the other hand, employees with 25-30-35 to 40 years of service were pushed into the company.  Under the pretext of company losses, 165 employees were given VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) in a single day, 22 disabled employees were adjusted in other departments, and 349 employees were left to fend for themselves, who have been facing hardship for the past year because they were abandoned to suffer losses. The meeting questioned the administration: on one hand, some employees were adjusted in the department and other government departments to prevent losses, while the other 349 were sent to a private company. Where is the justice in this? The administration remains silent on this matter, but the employees are losing their previously available benefits one by one. First, the allocation of houses was stopped, then they stopped receiving loans from banks, concessions for school admissions were stopped, and free treatment in government hospitals was discontinued. They did not receive promotions in February, and reservations were curtailed; their government employee status was revoked. Even employees retiring during the 12-month provisional period are not being given pensions and GPF (General Provident Fund). The government is not issuing retirement orders or PPOs, and the Central Government Health Scheme is also not applicable to them. Even employees on their deathbeds are not being granted VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) under central government rules for the past 6-7 months. They are only being shown false hopes of pension, commutation, and gratuity. Therefore, the employees are feeling helpless and cheated by corrupt officials and are seeking solace in the courts, but they are not powerless.

They have resolved to launch a struggle on January 31st and bring these corrupt and guilty officers to justice, who, for their petty self-interests, are trying to deprive employees who have completed 25-30-35-40 years of service of their government pensions.

The union officials have appealed to all employees to participate in large numbers in the धरना (protest) to be held in Sector 17 on January 30th and in the Black Day protests being observed on January 31, 2026.