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Marathon meetings were held in the last two weeks between the workers and management infront of the labour department officials. The unions said the management is sticking to its stand of a 10% wage hike till this week and finally gave an offer of 13 per cent hike. The unions were demanding a 24% hike.
"We have conveyed the management's offer to the workers in a general body yesterday, the workers said that they will better go without an increment rather than accepting it. We decided to go for work and the workers will join the shift tonight," said Udayakumar, leader of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led union of NLC workers.
He added that the workers would protest after their works in the facility and the unions would consider next plan of action in next few days.
According to sources, while the strike has affected the production to an extend of around 900 MW earlier, the product has increased as the company managed with the contract workers. Considering that the strike has not resulted in the expected impact, the Unions are looking at alternate options to achieve their demand.
Around 12,000 employees of NLC have went on an indefinite strike since July 20th night demanding a wage hike.
The strike was called by 13 trade unions yesterday after talks with the management broke down and the decision to go on strike was taken after a Joint Action Council meet of trade unions including CITU, INTUC, AITUC and AIADMK unions.
The unions said the management is sticking to its stand of a 10% wage hike. The unions are demanding a 24% hike. Wage revision in the public sector giant is implemented once every five years. However, the last revision was in 2007.
Later, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has called for Prime Minister's intervention to bring the ongoing indefinite strike, by workers. She said that there is a precarious situation prevailing in the NLC power station complex due to the strike, in which the workers are seeking an early and satisfactory wage revision settlement.
The Madras High Court had earlier restrained the employees from going on a strike. The order was issued after the management approached the Court against the unions. With the strike intencified the NLC has received a favourable order from the Madras High Court, said that the strike conducted by the Workers' unions is illegal and asked the management to take disciplinary action against the protesting workers.
In its petition, the company had said that it is in public interest that a public utility service company like NLC, is not unjustly or illegally prevented from functioning normally owing to the illegal acts of few Unions/Associations.
NLC has three thermal power stations which generate 3,000 MW, which is shared between states in the Southern Region.
NLC is one of the main suppliers of power to Tamil Nadu and supplies about 1,450 Mega Watts of power to the state. As a result of the ongoing strike, it was apprehended that about 2990 MW of power production will be affected and Tamil Nadu alone will lose about 1,450 MW of power, said Jayalalithaa in her letter.
