Two weeks after the police lathi-charged protesting members of the 2600 Apprenticeship Lineman Union for blocking and locking the entry gates of the PSPCL headquarters in Patiala, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has decided to absorb 2,437 apprentice trainees as Assistant Linemen (ALMs).
Several members of the Apprenticeship Lineman Union had been sitting atop overhead water tanks to press the government for their recruitment.
A PSPCL official said the recruitment decision was taken after the Chief Minister (CM) took serious note of the police action against the union members.
Confirming the development, Administrative Secretary, Power-cum-Chairman and Managing Director, PSPCL, Dr Basant Garg, said that special instructions had been issued by the CM to absorb 2,437 apprentice trainees as Assistant Linemen (ALMs) at the earliest.
Making a formal announcement from Punjab Bhawan, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “The Board of Directors of PSPCL has accorded approval for the absorption of 2,437 apprentice trainees as Assistant Linemen (ALMs). The trainees are presently undergoing apprenticeship training in the Lineman Trade in PSPCL and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL).”
The cabinet minister stated, “PSPCL will conduct the mandatory Punjabi language examination for the said trainees as a one-time relaxation. The examination schedule will be notified in due course on the official website of PSPCL, following which the process of absorption will be taken forward.”
Cheema added that a total of 9,627 recruitments have been made in PSPCL and PSTCL since April 2022.
Providing further details, he said, “Of the total 9,627 recruitments, 8,048 were made through direct recruitment and 1,579 on compassionate grounds.”
Earlier this year, appointment letters were handed over by CM Bhagwant Singh Mann to 570 candidates belonging to various categories. The recruitment process for approximately 3,000 additional posts is presently underway and is likely to be completed by November 2026.
