Ranchi, April 19: Employees of the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) have joined hands with their counterparts in Jharkhand to oppose the proposed division of the two ?power authorities?.

Employees of the two utility companies have united under a forum and announced that if either one of the electricity board is split, the employees of the other utility company will join the divided board?s staff to strike work in both states.

The move has garnered across-the-border support against the proposed division of the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) into four units.

Buoyed by the state government?s three-month extension of the deadline to split JSEB, employee union representatives of both the boards held a meeting here today and decided to take the ?banner of revolt together?.

The secretary of the Bihar Power Electrical Service Association (BPESA), B.L. Yadav, said: ?In case the Bihar government takes an anti-employee decision there, we will move towards a strike in both the states. In case the Jharkhand government takes such a decision, then also we will move towards a joint strike.?

The Union government had asked the JSEB to be split before June 9 and BSEB by September 9, 2006.

The union members also termed the Jharkhand government?s decision to dismiss their demand to cancel an ?anti-employee clause? in the demerger agreement as ?autocratic?.

Further, members of joint forum of the unions expressed ?firm hopes? of a ?positive outcome? from the upcoming meeting between Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan and the National Coordination of Electric Engineers and Employees? representatives.

The meeting is scheduled on the first week of May to ?review the Union government?s decision of dividing the state electricity boards across the country?, said M.P. Yadav, general secretary of the Federation of JSEB Employees.