PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan Karmchari Sangh has submitted a letter to chief general manager DK Singh demanding immediate redressal of long-pending employee grievances and has warned of agitation if action is not taken within 15 days.
In the letter, the association general secretary Nandlal Joshi demanded that Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan be declared a government department and that copies of all proceedings related to its nationalisation be shared with the union. Key demands include immediate promotion of employees from Group D to Group C regularisation of contractual, ad-hoc, part-time, daily wage and work-charge staff, and granting “equal pay for equal work” to junior engineers engaged through UPNL. The Sangh also sought restoration of the monetisation system, which it said was suspended against employee interests.
Joshi alleged that as per the department’s order, UPNL employees are being placed in the lowest pay scale regardless of category, causing financial loss to semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled workers. He urged category-wise pay scales for UPNL staff along with EPF, ESI and GLIC benefits. The Sangh also objected to the revised departmental structure that has reduced personnel while increasing engineering posts, and called for correction of pay anomalies in cadres such as assistant accountant, pump operator and fitter.
He further added that other demands include essential service allowance for Jal Sansthan employees, payment of minimum wages to PTC, contractual and outsourced staff as per labour department norms, compassionate appointments for dependents without a compulsory typing test, an end to the contract labour system, and no transfers under political pressure without proper inquiry. The union further sought early promotions against vacant posts and raised concerns over the CGM’s alleged rude behaviour toward union office-bearers and lack of response to calls and meeting requests. In the letter, the Sangh Warned that employees are facing growing resentment, and Joshi said that if demands are not addressed within 15 days, the union will be compelled to launch protests and Dharnas, for which the management will be solely responsible.
