Port Blair, Aug 03: Andaman Sarvajanik Nirman Vibhag Mazdoor Sangh (CITU) has organized a Mass Demonstration in front of the offices of the Labour Commissioner at Supply Line and Chief Engineer, APWD, Port Blair on 02.08.2018 at 3 p.m to protest against the illegal and unjustified opinion given by the Labour Commissioner to the Chief Engineer, APWD about the implementation of the 1/30th of pay plus DA scheme to daily rated mazdoors of APWD.
Hundreds of workers working in APWD at Port Blair and South Andaman areas participated in the programme.
Addressing the gathering in front of the office of the Labour Commissioner, B. Chandrachoodan, President of the ASNVMS said that the Administration’s Office Memorandum No. 289 dated 22nd September, 2017 to extend the benefit of 1/30th of pay plus DA scheme of the Govt. of India to all the daily rated mazdoors has been partially implemented in APWD and a large section of DRMs were left out due to the wrong advice tendered by the Labour Commissioner. The Labour Commissioner, in a most brazen violation of the existing rules and orders, has advised the Chief Engineer that only those daily rated mazdoors who have completed 240 days’ continuous service in a calendar year is eligible for getting the benefit of 1/30th of pay plus DA scheme, a condition which is not included in the Govt. of India’s 1988 original scheme or in the Office Memorandum dated 22nd September, 2017.
After the mass demonstration in front of the office of the Labour Commissioner, the workers took out a procession which culminated in a mass demonstration in front of the office of the Chief Engineer, APWD. The other demands raised by the Union were (1) regularization of the services of daily rated mazdoors working in various Divisions of APWD (2) To grant 1/30th of pay plus DA to all DRMs, (3) grant of bonus to all DRMs, etc. Mr. M. Boominathan, General Secretary and Mr. Anand Rajan, Treasurer of the Union also addressed the participants in the programme. Participants in the meeting demanded that the unjustified and illegal advice tendered by the Labour Commissioner should not be taken into consideration by the APWD.
Similar programme was conducted at Rangat where workers of APWD organized a mass demonstration in front of the Asst. Labour Commissioner demanding withdrawal of illegal and unjustified opinion given by the Labour Commissioner on the DRM issue in APWD. Mr. Karuppaiah, Secretary, Rangat Branch of ASNVMS, Mr. VK Krishnadas, Secretary, CITU Middle Andaman Zonal Committee, etc. addressed the participants. A large number of APWD workers of Middle Andaman area participated in the programme.
