Kerala State Electricity Board to hold trade unions referendum on April 28

Thiruvananthapuram, April 11 (KNN) The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will hold the trade unions' referendum on April 28 and the votes will be counted at the office of the Regional Joint Labour Commissioner in Ernakulam after two days.

The voting will take place after a hiatus of seven years. The final list of the trade unions will be out on April 20 which is eight days before the referendum is scheduled to take place.

After being recognised as a company in 2013, this will be the second referendum to be conducted in the power utility.

The voting was last held in October 2015 which decides the eligibility of trade unions. Later owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic the subsequent referendum were delayed.

In 2015, CITU-backed KSEB Workers' Association (KSEBWA) won 47.51 per cent votes, the INTUC faction United Democratic Electricity Employees’ Front (UDEEF) 24.82 per cent, and the Kerala Electricity Workers Federation (KEWF) supported by the AITUC, 16.5 per cent to win recognition.

On April 28, around 27,000 employees of the KSEB belonging to the workmen category will be eligible to vote in the referendum. Pollings booths will be set up in 71 Electrical Divisions Offices and five other offices of the KSEB. Ballot papers will be used for the exercise. (KNN Bureau)