The Standing Council of Trade Unions, Ernakulam, took out a protest rally to the Kalamassery substation of the Kerala State Electricity Board demanding that the power tariff hike be rolled back. If the government does not withdraw the hike, the trade unions will lay siege to the office of the Electricity Regulatory Commission on August 7. The organisation has also announced an industrial hartal in the industrial sector of the district on August 10, said a communication issued by K.N. Gopinath for the trade union collective.
Added burden
K. Chandran Pillai, CITU State secretary, inaugurated the protest mach. Representatives of various trade unions spoke.
The trade union leaders said that the hike would force the industrial units to a big crisis. The new tariff will bring an additional monthly burden of Rs.1.44 crore on an industrial unit which consumes 10 lakh units a month. The FACT will have to bear an additional annual burden of Rs.18 crore, said the statement. The government should ensure the independence of the power regulatory commission and desist from appointing former KSEB employees as its members.
The three-member commission has two former board employees as its members. Such members cannot show justice to the general public, the statement said.
