Meter readers warn of stir over salary dues
Berhampur: Meter readers of Southco Utility — the power distribution company — on Friday threatened to stop their work as they are yet to get their salary of three months. They also opposed the proposal of replacing men with women self-help groups in meter reading and collection of the charges.
Hundreds of meter readers from different districts under the jurisdiction of Southco Utility carried out a rally here and submitted a memorandum in this regard to the revenue divisional commissioner (southern range), addressing the chief secretary of the state.
“We have not got our salaries for the past three months,” said president of Southco’s meter reading association, Sramika Singh Santosh Kumar Patnaik.
“Even though we have been working for the last 15 years through different private agencies engaged by Southco, we are yet to get the minimum wage fixed by the government from the agency,” Patnaik alleged.
Bidyadhar Padhy, secretary of the association, said, different agencies have threatened to replace them with the women self-help groups for meter reading and collection of electric charges. “This will affect our their livelihoods,”he added. The workers have demanded a solution to their problems before Dusshera.
“Even though we have been working for the last 15 years through different private agencies engaged by Southco, we are yet to get the minimum wage fixed by the government from the agency,” Patnaik alleged.
Bidyadhar Padhy, secretary of the association, said, different agencies have threatened to replace them with the women self-help groups for meter reading and collection of electric charges. “This will affect our their livelihoods,”he added. The workers have demanded a solution to their problems before Dusshera.
Chief operating officer (COO) of Southco, Arun Kumar, said they have no direct link with the meter readers. “We have engaged six private agencies for reading meters and collecting bills in our operation areas across eight districts,” Kumar added.
Around 500 meter readers are engaged in work across the districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Boudh, Nabarangapur, Koraput, Rayagada and Malkanagiri.
General Manager (Commerce) of Southco, Lenka Prasad, said the agencies may have not been able to pay the workers as the power distribution company is yet to clear dues on their part. Southco is yet to pay around Rs 3 crore to the private agencies. “We could not clear the amount because of less collection,” he added.
Southco has around 22 lakh consumers but the company was collecting Rs 6-8 lakh per month.
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