Country grapples with blackout concerns

40,000 holiday applications in REB

Mahfuja Mukul: The agitating officers and employees of 80 Palli Viddyut Samiti gave a 72-hour ultimatum to implement the two-point demand of regularizing the jobs of contractual and irregular workers by merging the Rural Electrification Board and the Palli Viddyut Samiti and implementing the two-point demand of regularizing the jobs of contractual and irregular workers. That ultimatum expires today.
Palli Viddyut Samiti provides electricity to more than 36 million consumers in 80 percent of the rural areas, which is the highest in terms of electricity supply. The question is what will happen if the demands are not met according to the ultimatum?
It has been found that if the demands are not met, the employees of the association may go on a complete strike. In that case, a large population of the country may experience blackout.
In this regard, Daily Industry spoke with Engineer Rajan Kumar Das, the coordinator of the movement of Palli Vidyut Samiti. He said, the two-point demand that we have made is reasonable and fair. We discussed the demand several times with the ministry but we did not get any proper solution. Even on August 8, a discussion and decision was taken by the combination of rural electricity, electricity department and army, but it was not published in the form of an office order.
We understand that rural electricity and electricity department is not giving importance to the matter.
Rajan Kumar Das said, this time we have given an ultimatum of 72 hours, if there is no fair solution, then as announced we will go on public holiday. Already, more than 40,000 officers of the association (the total number of officers and employees are around 45,000) have applied for leave. If the demand is not met then there is a possibility of power blackout across the country when these officials and employees go on leave.
“But we really don’t want anything like that to happen or customers to suffer. We want, Electricity Advisor Fawzul Karim Khan, Rural Electricity and Electricity Department to give us a fair solution.
The coordinator of the movement of Palli Viddyut Samiti said that they are already standing in front of the secretariat. Chairman of Palli Viddyut is staying in the Ministry of Power. A solution may come soon.
Highlighting the content of the movement, Palli Viddyut Samiti said in a message last Saturday that 45 thousand officers and employees of Palli Vidyut Samiti provide electricity to about 140 million people in 80 parts of the country, ignoring sun, storm and rain seven days a week. Palli has been agitating for a long time to get rid of the dual rule, discrimination and oppression of the Rural Electrification Board, implementation of uniform employment rules along with REB-Pobis merger and regularization of all irregular/contractual employees. As a result of the five-day strike since May, a conciliation meeting was held mediated by the power department and the strike was called off. Then according to the instructions of the electricity department, written demands were submitted to the appropriate authorities with the signatures of 38,000 officials and employees.
The message also said that due to another 10-day strike from July 1 due to lack of satisfactory results, a meeting was held in the presence of Senior Secretary of Power Department, three additional secretaries, senior officials of REB and officers and employees of the association and the decision of REB-Pobis merger/reform was taken. REB-POBIS merger/reform was mentioned as the need of the hour by the Power Department and a 9-member committee comprising REB, Association and Ministry was constituted on August 1. On the same date, REB ordered punitive transfer of two GMs and four DGMs of the association for their involvement in the agitation.
After receiving the news of the preparations for the movement of the officers and employees of Palli Viddyut Samiti, the pre-formed committee meeting was organized by the Electricity Department on August 22. All REB representatives were absent in that meeting without prior notice. The power department played a passive role in this regard. As a result, as there is extreme anger among the officers and employees of the association, all kinds of information supply from the association and all kinds of communication with REB have been stopped by expressing distrust towards REB.
To resolve the existing disparity between REB and Palli Vidyut Samiti within the next 72 hours, implement the pre-announced two-point demand and the kind intervention of the Interim Government to ensure a fair and just solution to the punishment of some disorderly, misbehaving and corrupt officials of REB who are engaged in the attempt to destroy the working environment by resisting the just demands of Palli Viddyut Samiti and I wish for the cooperation of the students.