THE Electricity Employees’ Federation of India (EEFI), in a statement issued on January 20, has congratulated the electricity employees of Telangana for their ongoing struggle to achieve equal status and salaries for artisans in line with regular electricity employees.

The electricity artisans of Telangana have been fighting for their conversion to permanent posts under the banner of the Telangana Vidyuth Artisans Conversion (TVAC) Joint Action Committee for a long time. As part of their continuous struggle, the Joint Action Committee has initiated a four-day relay hunger strike starting on January 20, 2025. The hunger strike will involve 2,000 workers every day, with demonstrations being held in front of the 31 district headquarters and 40 circles of Telangana's electricity distribution, transmission, and generation companies.

EEFI extends warm greetings to its constituent, the Telangana United Electricity Employees Union (TGUEEU), for leading this struggle on behalf of the artisans. The artisans constitute a unique category of workers created by the Telangana government under the discriminatory Artisans Service Rule. Strikingly, they are neither contractual workers nor fully regular employees governed by the APSEB Service Rule. They receive only a fraction of the salaries provided to permanent employees. Despite this, they are engaged in core operation and maintenance jobs, with many diploma and degree-holding engineers working as artisans. Several artisans have been serving for 15–20 years but remain deprived of permanent employee status.

This is undoubtedly a severe case of discrimination and an unfair labour practice. EEFI urges the chief minister of Telangana to take immediate and necessary steps to ensure justice for the artisans by recognising their rights and addressing their demands. This will also help improve the quality of electricity services. EEFI stands firmly in solidarity with the struggling electricity artisans of Telangana in their pursuit of the long-pending demand for conversion to permanent employee status.