हिंदी
AAP seeks removal of apprentice certificate condition in recruitment of assistant linemen
Chandigarh, August 30 2021
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has taken stern notice of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) implementing the wrong order to introduce National Apprentice Certificate to exclude the youth of Punjab from the recruitment of assistant linemen. Lashing out at the Punjab government, the AAP stated that such a condition was either a big conspiracy against the youth of Punjab or a result of government incompetence as the Punjab government had closed the apprenticeship (training) program in the state from the year 2016-17.
Demanding removal of condition of National Apprentice Certificate, AAP MLA Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that due to this wrong edict of the Congress government, hundreds of ITI pass youth in Punjab would be deprived of government jobs; while other states would be deprived of government jobs; while the youth of other states will be able to get jobs in Punjab.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Monday, Meet Hayer said, “On the one hand the Congress government is advertising jobs to the youth of Punjab, while the reality is that the Congress government is depriving the youth of Punjab of the right to get government jobs by imposing conditions that cannot be fulfilled in the recruitment process; an example of which is the requirement of PSPCL to submit National Apprentice Certificate for the recruitment of assistant linemen.
He said that due to the condition of the apprentice certificate, only 800 ITI pass youth of Punjab could apply for 1700 posts of assistant linemen by PSPCL as other ITI pass holders do not have apprentice certificates. Hayer alleged that the previous Badal and the present Congress government were responsible for depriving the ITI pass youth of the right to apply for the job, which had stopped the apprenticeship program in the state from the year 2016-17.
Meet Hayer said the Aam Aadmi Party has been advocating for maximum government jobs and permanent employment to the youth of Punjab from the very beginning. “We want the recruitment process, which has been initiated by the present government, to be completed as soon as possible, albeit through elections,” he said. Hayer said if such recruitment campaigns are stopped due to any legal hurdle or administrative laxity, it will only harm the youth of the state. But the inexact intellect and the recruitment advertisements issued by the government with such loopholes call into question both the policy and the intentions of the government, he asserted.
“How can such conditions be imposed when the apprenticeship program has been closed for 6 years? Does the government want such a condition to be legally challenged as an excuse to avoid recruitment? Does the government want candidates from other states to take advantage of this recruitment instead of the youth of Punjab?” questioned the AAP leader. Disclosing about the National Apprentice Certificate, Hayer further said that the PSPCL and PSTCL are the two entities in the power sector of Punjab. He said the PSTCL did not impose any condition of apprentice certificate for the recruitment of assistant linemen and recently had also conducted recruitment tests from ITI pass candidates; while the PSPCL was deliberately imposing the condition of apprentice.
Meet Hayer said the linemen of Punjab have been struggling for many years to get jobs on vacant and new posts of linemen and assistant linemen; but like the previous Badal government, the present Congress government continued to beat them with canes instead of giving them jobs. “As a result, thousands of eligible candidates have become overage while waiting for a job. That is why the Aam Aadmi Party demands that the age limit be removed in any recruitment process,” he added.
