Lucknow: UP Power Corporation Nivida Samvida Karamchari Sangh on Friday alleged that 36 workplace accidents in the past 37 days have left 22 workers dead and 14 seriously injured across the state, blaming staff shortages and unsafe working conditions.The union claimed that Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) and its discoms have removed around 25,000 outsourced workers, leading to an acute manpower crunch and increased workload on remaining staff, affecting safety standards.Speaking to TOI, the union’s state general secretary Devendra Kumar Pandey alleged that, instead of deploying a standard maintenance gang — comprising a lineman, a skilled worker and two unskilled helpers — on 11 kV outgoing feeders, in most cases only one worker is assigned.He said as per a 2017 UPPCL notification, when the number of consumers was around 1.5 crore, 36 personnel were deployed at a substation with five outgoing feeders. However, under an Oct 2024 notification, staffing has been reduced to 18.5 personnel for a similar setup. He added that earlier there were four substation operators (SSOs) and four assistant SSOs, but now substations are manned by 3.5 SSOs with no assistant SSOs.Pandey further alleged that unskilled workers are being asked to handle high-tension and low-tension lines, transformers and other electrical installations without adequate support.“Though safety equipment is mandated for field staff, in several areas even basic facilities like ladders are not being provided,” he said.The union alleged that the highest number of accidents has been reported in Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (MVVNL).Announcing a phased agitation, the union said tribute meetings will be held across districts on June 1 to honour workers who lost their lives. In Lucknow, a condolence meeting will be organised at Shakti Bhawan at 10am.Responding to TOI, UPPCL managing director Nitish Kumar said there has been a 31% reduction in on-duty deaths due to power accidents. He added that the corporation has invested Rs 28 crore in safety gear for staff and maintained that there is no manpower shortage, claiming that field personnel strength has been increased.