Engineers protest `contract' norm
PATIALA:
HT Correspondent

THEY OBJECTED TO THE DECISION THAT RECRUIT- MENTS WOULD NOW BE ON CONTRACT BASIS, INITIALLY FOR 3 YEARS
Engineers of the state power corporations staged a protest on Tuesday against the state government for its decision to permanently stop regular recruitments. Wearing black badges, they objected to the decision that all recruitments, including those of engineers and doctors, would now be on contract basis, initially for three years. “The needs and the business of power companies are entirely different, and require highly trained and qualified engineering cadre, especially when the sector is witnessing tremendous changes. The future managers need to be highly trained and motivated, for which recruitment on contract basis in the executive cadre will be against the long-term interest of the power sector as the companies will not be able to recruit the best talent from the market,“ said PSEB Engineers' Association president HS Bedi.
(The Punjab State Electricity Board or PSEB is now defunct; it's been bifurcated into Punjab State Power Corporation Limited or PSPCL and the Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited or PSTCL.)

The association also criticised the government for not fulfilling its commitment that the tripartite agreement signed between the state, managements of two power companies and all employees and officers' associations after unbundling of the PSEB would be notified.