PDL/TDL Workers Suspend Agitation for 30 Days Following Assurances from Power Development Department

JAMMU, July 26: After a month-long agitation demanding job regularisation and compensation-related relief, the Power Development Department (PDD) daily wage employees categorized under PDL (Permanent Daily Labour) and TDL (Temporary Daily Labour) have agreed to suspend their ongoing protest for a period of 30 days. The decision was taken after a significant tripartite meeting was held between the leadership of the PDL/TDL Workers Union, the Power Development Department (PDD) administration, and representatives of the Jammu and Kashmir Power Employees and Engineers Coordination Committee (JKPEECC).

The protest, which began on June 26, centered around the long-pending demand for regularisation of 557 PDL and TDL workers across Jammu and Kashmir, along with calls for timely compensation to the families of workers who lost their lives or were incapacitated in the line of duty. Of the 557 cases, 332 had already been vetted and recommended for regularisation by the Departmental Level Committee (DLC) in accordance with the JPDCL Regularisation Rules notified in 2022. The Board of Directors (BoD) of JPDCL approved the proposal on April 11, 2025. However, the delay in processing the file—currently under review by the General Administration Department (GAD)—became a major point of contention, sparking unrest among the workforce.

During the dialogue, the JKPEECC appealed to the union to suspend its protest temporarily, citing that the file was moving in a positive direction and that 55 other cases requiring special relaxation had already received approval. The committee assured the workers that if the issue remained unresolved after 30 days, all associated power employees and unions would unite in support of their cause.