PSEB employees protesting during the Bharat bandh in Ludhiana on February 12. (File Photo)Promotions of several employees from the post of lineman to senior lineman in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) have been cancelled after they participated in the February 12 ‘Bharat bandh’.According to union leaders, orders issued by the PSPCL Sangrur office directed that employees who had been promoted as senior linemen but had taken part in the February 12 strike should not be relieved from their previous postings and their details should be sent to the technical branch so that their promotions could be cancelled. The order, dated March 3, was issued by the additional superintending engineer (technical) and addressed to all additional superintending engineers and senior executive engineers in Sangrur district.Union representatives claimed that similar orders have been issued in other districts as well, though they have so far obtained a copy only of the Sangrur letter.Harpreet Singh, General Secretary, Punjab Technical Services Union, alleged that the action reflects a “dubious stand” of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). “Employees had participated in the Bharat bandh after giving due notice to PSPCL officials in their respective districts. Interestingly, the AAP itself had supported the bandh call and staged district-level protests, yet punitive action is being taken against employees,” he said.Another union leader, Gurpreet Singh Mehdoodan of the PSEB Employees Federation (AITUC), said the corporation has also deducted one day’s salary of employees who joined the February 12 strike, which was reflected in their salaries. He, however, noted that such salary deductions had occurred in earlier strikes as well. “Earlier, the deducted salary was usually restored after the issue was raised before the board of directors. Similar things happened in the past with deferred promotions or pension benefits, but this time the situation is different since the ruling party itself had supported the bandh,” he said.The February 12 Bharat bandh had been called by 10 central trade unions along with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to protest against what they described as anti-worker and anti-farmer policies of the central government. The protest also raised concerns over the proposed electricity amendment bill, alleged moves towards privatisation, and other labour and farm-related issues.It needs to be mentioned that, as per the previous records of PSEB Employees Federation, more than 50 per cent of PSPCL employees on regular rolls had participated in the strike. “The protest was mainly over the draft electricity amendment bill and other issues. Among our state-level concerns was also the Punjab government’s plan to sell PSPCL properties under the ‘optimum use of vacant government-owned land’ policy,” said Mehdoodan.Support from Congress, AAPStory continues below this adEmployees of Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) had also partially participated in the strike. The bandh had received support from both the opposition Congress and the ruling AAP in Punjab.Harpreet Singh said power employees’ unions will stage a protest outside the Ludhiana residence of Punjab Power Minister Sanjeev Arora on March 28, where the issue of cancelled promotions will also be raised.Meanwhile, senior officials at the PSPCL Sangrur office said they had only forwarded the orders received from the head office and were not the decision-making authority in the matter.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:AAPPSPCL