All Haryana Power Corporation Workers Union 7^th Biennial Conference

The 7^th Biennial conference of All Haryana Power Corporation Workers Union was held at Rohtak on 17-18^th May, 2003 at Sriram Trust, Barat Ghar. Shri Pratap Singh, President of the Union inaugurated the conference by unfurling the union’s flag. In this conference a seminar was organized on the "Adverse Impacts of Electricity Privatisation". 650 delegates and observers participated from all the units in the state. About three dozen representatives from gram Panchayats while participating in the seminar crowed peasant worker unity slogan. The Chairman, Reception Committee Dr. Suraj Bhan while welcoming the delegates, hoped the deliberations in the conference will lead to concrete decisions against the imperialist attack on toiling masses.

Com. E. Balanandan, President EEFI said that the central and state governments under the dictates of WB, IMF and WTO had bent upon destroying power sector through privatisation without taking any lesson from decades experience of power reforms say for example experience of failure of liberalisation in power sector in case of Enron in Maharashtra, Distribution privatisation in Orissa and Delhi. Despite opposition from left parties in parliament with the cooperation of Congress (I) , NDA government has succeeded in passing Electricity Bill-2003.

He also drawn the attention towards the fact that Bourgeois parties during election come in power in the name of supplying cheap electricity for 24 hours but once in power they don’t pay any attention towards these promises and as a result long duration power-cuts are being experienced resulting in adverse impacts on the industrial developments. Com. B.S.Meel, General Secretary EEFI said that in case Electricity Bill-2003 takes the shape of law will lead to ignore power supply to rural areas and it will not be accountable to parliament and assemblies.

21^st May Strike

More than 90% employees in power sector participated in the strike bringing the work hold. Almost all the Divisional Offices and complaint centres remained closed. To make this strike a success the leaders of two rival unions jointly campaigned throughout the state appealing consumers to support the agitation which is against the World Back dictated policies. During strike the senior leaders of both the unions Com. Dhara Singh, R.C. Jagga, I.D. Sharma, Devendra Hooda, Amrik Singh, S.K. Singhla and Subhash Lamba made appeal to the employees to keep unity intact for a long draw agitation.