AP Power employees JAC backed out from indefinite strike call

VIJAYAWADA: In a big relief for power utilities and consumers, the AP State Power Employees' Joint Action Committee (APSPE JAC) has agreed to call off their planned indefinite strike following near 12-hour long talks with management on Friday.

The meeting, held amid rising tensions over long-standing employee grievances, resulted in consensus on a wide array of issues, averting potential disruptions to the state's energy infrastructure. The contract employees association expressed shock after JAC withdrawing the strike without getting any assurance from management on regularisation of their services. The managements have promised to examine equal pay for equal work for contract employees during the implementation of recommendations of the next Pay Revision Committee (PRC). The negotiations held at Vidyut Soudha, Vijayawada, were spearheaded by a steering committee headed by chief secretary K Vijayanand. Genco MD Nagalakshmi, JMD (transco) Sai Surya Praveenchand, employees union leaders including JAC chairman S Krishnaiah and other representatives were present.The discussions covered critical issues related to policy implementations, employee welfare, recruitment, and financial benefits.

Management approved implementing a group medi-claim policy within 60 days, in principle agreement with the union's request, and formed a dedicated committee to study implications for all power utilities' employees, including retirees. This committee will also explore feasibility for an old pension scheme and comprise members from APGENCO, APTRANSCO, finance, and unions. Tenders for EPF to GPF implementation will be finalized within 60 days, with a separate committee studying financial implications. For outsourcing workers, direct payments to eliminate third-party agencies were agreed upon, and a committee will examine service issues, including wages for uniform contract labor and outsourced staff.APSPE JAC's request for implementing equal pay from April 1, 2026, was forwarded to the govt, with management agreeing to examine the issue in the next Pay Revision Commission (PRC). Arrears for contract employees will be released as per the enhanced remuneration from April 1, 2022, to October 13, 2023.

Workers completing 10 years of service will receive incentives based on skill level—Rs. 500 for unskilled, Rs. 700 for semi-skilled, and Rs.

800 for highly skilled—with an additional Rs. 1,000 per month for those reaching 20 years. Medical expenses will be covered on par with regular employees, including special disability leave for accidents during duty, up to three months, with the treatment period considered as duty time. Additional agreements focused on recruitment and pay, such as filling direct recruitment posts during JLM recruitment using only ITI marks, examining four pending dearness allowances or relief as per previous wage revisions, and taking up recruitment of initial cadres in power utilities by Nov 30, 2025. Balance compassionate appointments were addressed immediately. Other resolutions included stopping drastic actions like transfers or suspensions without proper investigation, facilitating company-to-company transfers (Discom-Transco-Genco) for initial cadre posts on a one-time basis, rectifying pay anomalies for those appointed prior to 1993, and enabling conversion from O&M to other eligible cadres like Junior Assistants and Junior Engineers after passing required tests.To address health and safety, compassionate appointments for family members of deceased outsourcing workers will be provided on a case-to-case basis, and maintenance works will no longer be awarded to departmental O&M staff, contractors, or external agencies, with specific instructions to be issued. In a big relief for power utilities and consumers, the AP State Power Employees' Joint Action Committee (APSPE JAC) has agreed to call off their planned indefinite strike following near 12-hour long talks with management on Friday.

The meeting, held amid rising tensions over long-standing employee grievances, resulted in consensus on a wide array of issues, averting potential disruptions to the state's energy infrastructure.

The contract employees association expressed shock after JAC withdrawing the strike without getting any assurance from management on regularisation of their services. The managements have promised to examine equal pay for equal work for contract employees during the implementation of recommendations of the next Pay Revision Committee (PRC). The negotiations held at Vidyut Soudha, Vijayawada, were spearheaded by a steering committee headed by chief secretary K Vijayanand. Genco MD Nagalakshmi, JMD (transco) Sai Surya Praveenchand, employees union leaders including JAC chairman S Krishnaiah and other representatives were present.The discussions covered critical issues related to policy implementations, employee welfare, recruitment, and financial benefits.

Management approved implementing a group medi-claim policy within 60 days, in principle agreement with the union's request, and formed a dedicated committee to study implications for all power utilities' employees, including retirees. This committee will also explore feasibility for an old pension scheme and comprise members from APGENCO, APTRANSCO, finance, and unions. Tenders for EPF to GPF implementation will be finalized within 60 days, with a separate committee studying financial implications.

For outsourcing workers, direct payments to eliminate third-party agencies were agreed upon, and a committee will examine service issues, including wages for uniform contract labor and outsourced staff.APSPE JAC's request for implementing equal pay from April 1, 2026, was forwarded to the govt, with management agreeing to examine the issue in the next Pay Revision Commission (PRC). Arrears for contract employees will be released as per the enhanced remuneration from April 1, 2022, to October 13, 2023.

Workers completing 10 years of service will receive incentives based on skill level—Rs. 500 for unskilled, Rs. 700 for semi-skilled, and Rs.

800 for highly skilled—with an additional Rs. 1,000 per month for those reaching 20 years. Medical expenses will be covered on par with regular employees, including special disability leave for accidents during duty, up to three months, with the treatment period considered as duty time. Additional agreements focused on recruitment and pay, such as filling direct recruitment posts during JLM recruitment using only ITI marks, examining four pending dearness allowances or relief as per previous wage revisions, and taking up recruitment of initial cadres in power utilities by Nov 30, 2025. Balance compassionate appointments were addressed immediately. Other resolutions included stopping drastic actions like transfers or suspensions without proper investigation, facilitating company-to-company transfers (Discom-Transco-Genco) for initial cadre posts on a one-time basis, rectifying pay anomalies for those appointed prior to 1993, and enabling conversion from O&M to other eligible cadres like Junior Assistants and Junior Engineers after passing required tests.To address health and safety, compassionate appointments for family members of deceased outsourcing workers will be provided on a case-to-case basis, and maintenance works will no longer be awarded to departmental O&M staff, contractors, or external agencies, with specific instructions to be issued.