Thousands of contractual electricity workers continued their agitation in Odisha on Thursday. They demanded the reinstatement of retrenched employees and implementation of a separate Odisha outsourcing model, as the All Odisha Electricity Workers Federation entered the fifth day of its protest.

The federation said more than 10,000 contractual workers employed across the four power distribution companies operated by Tata Power have joined the movement. Despite intense heat and humid conditions prevailing across the state, over 5,000 workers remained on dharna in support of the six-point charter of demands.

Workers Demand Reinstatement

The protesting workers alleged that several employees were removed from service and called for their immediate reinstatement. The federation maintained that addressing the issue of retrenchment remains its primary demand.

One of the protesters said the workers continued to discharge their duties under difficult conditions but were later removed from employment.

“Our main demand is the reinstatement of the employees who were laid off. Contract workers continued to work through every difficulty and were later removed from service. We appeal to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi to look into the matter and help resolve the issue,” the protester said.

Opposition To Alleged Retrenchment

Apart from seeking reinstatement of retrenched workers, the federation is also demanding the implementation of a separate Odisha outsourcing model. The protesters alleged that employees were removed in the name of cost-cutting measures.

Another protester claimed that many workers had remained unemployed for months following their retrenchment.

“We have been unemployed for nearly six months. We request the government to intervene, stop the alleged illegal retrenchment of employees in the name of cost-cutting and reinstate them. We were earning only around Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per month and were not receiving anything beyond that,” the protester said.

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Protest Continues Amid Heatwave Conditions

The dharna continued despite prevailing summer conditions marked by high temperature and oppressive humidity. Federation members said they would continue their agitation until their demands are addressed and retrenched workers are reinstated.