For a long period, the electricity employees were agitating against the plan to trifurcate the electricity sector which they properly understood is a prelude to privatisation. However, they came to an understanding with the government that this reform will be implemented only after studying the situation in states where these are implemented like Orissa, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh. But in their hurry to get a loan of Rs. 15,000 crores from the World Bank for which the precondition is to implement the reforms and therefore they ignored the promise given to the workers and sought to enforce the trifurcation by a notification. This provoked the workers and the engineers to go for immediate strike.

Brutal Repression

The government in their panicky used all their powers to suppress the strike. The strike was total. The whole of the engineers and the workers numbering 82000 joined the fray, including BMS -- the ruling party supported organisation. ESMA, MISA and NSA have been invoked. Thousands of workers and engineers were arrested. Military engineering personnel has been deployed to man the power stations. The government went to the extent of denying water and power in workers' colonies. Thus, the government virtually declared war on the employees.

Unprecedented Support

This unprecedented repression unleashed against the striking employees invoked enormous sympathy for the strike and strong protest against the government. On 17^th January, the northern area electricity engineers met and decided to go for `work to rule' in the adjoining states of UP and organise demonstrations throughout the country on 21^st. The Central trade unions too met at Delhi on the same day decided to send a delegation to Lucknow to sit in dharna together with the agitating employees and called upon the workers throughout the country to join in protest demonstration on 21^st. Accordingly myself and the other Central trade union leaders went to Lucknow and took part in the dharna. We had occasion to meet the senior minister of the UP government. During the talk, we requested that status quo anti should be restored and start negotiations withdrawing all the penal actions taken against the employees. But the Minister vehemently insisted that without withdrawing the strike, he will not negotiate. On the 20^th of January, the national platform of mass organisations met at New Delhi declared wholehearted support for the electricity employees strike, and called upon the electricity employees of the country to go for a day's strike in support of the striking workers on the 24^th. This strike of electricity employees and engineers was an important landmark in the electricity workers movement. Nearly 5 lakh workers took part. The increasing support of the people and the strike really isolated the UP government and forced them to negotiate with the striking employees leaders.

The argument being made by the government that the electricity board is loosing heavily and, therefore, it is not wise to continue with it. Though the electricity board is an independent entity, the fact was that on everything they had to go by the government directives. The power distributed in the state at the users end, the average cost charged per unit is Rs. 1.82 paise while the production cost per unit is Rs. 2.60 paise. Therefore, the state electricity board had to loose Rs. 2,600 crores per annum on this count.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India in his report stated that UP state government owes to the state electricity board Rs. 13,000 crores. Of which: a) Rs. 11,226 crores unpaid agricultural subsidy, b) Rs. 1,674.12 crores due from the government department, and c) Public lighting Rs. 251.99 crores and said that if this Rs. 13,000 crores are paid to the electricity board , the board will have a marginal profit. It can be seen from the above that the story of losses which is being tom-tomed is the result of implementing the government directives. The central government has offered to the private operators, foreign and Indian, 16% return on investment with several guarantees while they do not take care to ensure 3% return for the state electricity boards, though is a legal liability. Here, we see the double-standard. For the private operators, 16% return is guaranteeing, while the electricity boards are practically denied even the legally stipulated 3% return.

Privatisation is no Remedy

There might be umpteen areas in the functioning of the state electricity boards, which needs correction. But, the privatisation if so facto will not bring in efficiency to the system, but only pave the way for squeezing super-profit from this basic infrastructure facility.

The experience of privatisation of the power sector has resulted in delaying installed capacity as envisaged and the power rates charged by the private operators were also sky high. The experience of 8^th and 9^th plan shows that the plan target could not be achieved. The notorious ENRON company supplies bulk power to the Maharashtra state electricity board for Rs. 4.96 and the GMR Vasavi is to sell power at the rate of Rs. 4.10 in Tamilnadu. As per the World Bank expert's study, the power rates in UP will go up from 200 to 600 percent for different category of consumers. The average rate will go up from existing 1.80 paise to 5.60 paise. In Orissa, after the introduction of the policy of privatisation, the existing rate which was Rs. 97 paise per unit has been raised to 319 paise now. In Haryana and Andhra Pradesh, where the reform programme implemented also the rates had been hiked very much and after the ongoing assembly elections, these rates are going to be further hiked. Therefore, the policy of privatisation, as noted above, increase the power rate atleast 3 to 4 times.

The argument advanced for privatisation, electricity boards was that they are making heavy losses. But why then the profit-making entities which has performed very well according to all standards, the NTPC, the Power Grid Corporation and the Nuclear Power Corporation is also listed for privatisation. Therefore, the objective of the government of India is under any plea whether profit or loss is to privatise the whole of the public sector.

The vital power sector, if privatised as stated above, will only result in increasing the power cost sky high, which will increase the cost of our agricultural and industrial production so that the competitiveness of these sectors will be negatived and pave the way for foreign multinationals to dominate Indian market. This will again lead to deindustrialisation and domination of Indian economy as a whole by foreigners. So the electricity employees were fighting against the privatisation policy to protect the national interest, besides to protect their service conditions.

In the agreement, it was agreed that all the service conditions of the employees would be protected including promotions and wage revision. In the newly formed corporations, workers will be given representation. There will be a review each year and in that if the system is found not properly working, remedial measures will be taken including the restoration of old system.

The trade union movement must explain to the people that the total privatisation policy of the government of India is only to allow garnering billions of crores worth of public property for a song by the big capitalist of the country and their foreign collaborators. In the case of UP alone, it is estimated that the wealth of the state electricity board comes around one and a half lakh crores of rupees which will finally be privatised as indicated above for a song. This is the single agenda of the big bourgeoisie.