Chennai, June 8 (IANS) PMK President Dr Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the Vijay government and the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to address the long-pending demands of gangmen and appoint them to vacant Field Assistant and Wireman posts, stating that their request is both reasonable and justified.
In a statement issued on Monday, Anbumani said that although steps are being taken to fill vacancies in the electricity board, the demand raised by gangmen for appointment to higher technical posts has not received the attention it deserves from the authorities.
He pointed out that TANGEDCO had not recruited field-level workers for several years before issuing a notification in 2019 for the recruitment of technical personnel known as gangmen. Nearly 90,000 candidates applied for the posts, and after clearing physical efficiency and written examinations, 9,613 candidates were appointed as gangmen in March 2021.
Following two years of training, they were placed in a pay scale ranging from Rs 16,200 to Rs 51,500. However, Anbumani alleged that the employees have been performing responsibilities far beyond their designated role.
According to him, gangmen are currently engaged in duties normally carried out by Field Assistants and Wiremen, including restoring power supply during outages, rectifying low-voltage problems, maintaining transformers and handling electricity-related technical operations.
The PMK leader noted that the nature of the work exposes them to considerable risk. He claimed that more than 80 gangmen have lost their lives due to electrocution while on duty, while over 200 others have suffered various injuries in workplace accidents.
Anbumani said that despite functioning as Field Assistants and Wiremen in practice, gangmen continue to remain in their original category. He argued that when TANGEDCO proceeds to fill its reported vacancies of 26,605 Field Assistant posts and 14,358 Wireman posts, priority should be given to existing gangmen, with the remaining vacancies filled through fresh recruitment.
He further stated that gangmen possess the educational qualifications and technical training required for the higher posts. Many of them, he said, hold advanced academic qualifications, including university degrees and postgraduate credentials.
Noting that courts and labour welfare organisations have also recommended examining the issue, Anbumani urged the government to ensure that gangmen receive positions and salaries commensurate with their qualifications and experience.
He also highlighted the hardship faced by many workers who are posted hundreds of kilometres away from their hometowns and called for immediate measures to provide them with better career opportunities within TANGEDCO.
–IANS
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