SHILLONG, Dec 13: Miffed over unpaid salaries, the MeECL employees have announced a series of agitation from this week.
In a statement issued here, the Coordination Committee Of Registered MeECL (Employees) Associations and Unions (CCORMAU) said that subsequent to the failure of the MeECL management and the state government to honour the request of the committee to release the salary of the employees for the months of October and November by December 10, a general meeting of the employees resolved to intensify their agitations.
The committee resolved to pressurise the government and the MeECL management to accord top priority to payment of salaries and clear it by the 5th of every month, commencing with the salary of December 2020 and payment of loans and other liabilities only after disbursement of salary and pension.
The employees warned that if pending salary of October and November is not disbursed by December 14, they will hold a pen-down strike on December 15 and follow it up with a hunger strike on December 16 and 17.
The agitation would continue on December 21, with the officers and staff of MeECL abstaining from routine work like maintenance and resolution of public complaints between 10 am and 4.30 pm except for emergency services like health and security.
If the salary for December 2020 is not cleared by January 10 next year, the non-factory workers would resort to mass casual leave while other employees will take out a rally from Lumjingshai to the Secretariat and submit a memorandum to the state government.
Cautioning the management and the state government to heed to their demand, the committee further warned that) if the management and the government show no effort to resolve their issues, the employees of the Corporation would resort to a non-cooperation movement against the management from January 18 and a total shutdown on January 22, 2021.
The meeting of the committee also resolved through a signature campaign and a pledge that during the course of agitation, if any employee is arrested or detained, all MeECL employees will voluntarily court arrest.
The employees further asked the state government to take immediate measures to arrange for loan as per provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 to resolve the issue of terminal benefits, including actuarial valuation within three months.
The body also resolved that since the MoU signed by MePDCL with the Byrnihat Industries Association for special tariff is detrimental to the financial health of the Corporation, the management should immediately terminate the MoU in accordance with the exit clause provided therein.
In addition, the committee resolved that the MeECL management should scrap the smart metering project in its current form and hand it over to Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a Government of India undertaking, which has the mandate to execute such projects with zero investment under the National Smart Metering Program of the Union government.