Port Blair, Mar 25: Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Member of Parliament on 24.03.2021 raised in the Parliament, the issue of providing job security to the Casual workers and payment of ‘Equal pay for Equal work’ to all the Daily Rates Mazdoors engaged in various departments of Andaman and Nicobar Administration who are performing work of regular nature as being performed by regular employees.
Mr. Sharma addressing the Hon’ble Speaker said that in Andaman & Nicobar Islands there were around 7000 workers engaged by various departments of A&N Administration on daily wage basis continuously for past several years. Since these workers were entrusted with regular nature of works similar to that being done by regular employees, the A&N Administration in the year 2017 took a policy decision to pay daily wage equal to 1/30th of the pay at the minimum of the relevant pay scale plus dearness allowance for work of 8 hours a day to casual workers engaged on Daily Wage basis from September 2017 against the existing vacant posts in the department where they are engaged. The decision of Andaman and Nicobar Administration benefited could be around 4000 Casual workers who were paid minimum wage notified by the Administration and around 3000 Casual workers who have also worked continuously for substantially long period performing nature of work similar to regular employees were left for want of vacant posts in the departments where they are working.
The Member of Parliament through the Hon’ble Speaker requested the Government and A&N Administration to make payment of wages to the leftover DRMs also at the rate of 1/30th of the pay at the minimum of the relevant pay scale plus dearness allowance for work of 8 hours a day irrespective of availability of vacancies by following the principle of ‘Equal pay for Equal work’, since these DRMs are continuously performing regular nature of work as being performed by the regular employees of the department.
Expressing concern over the security and reliability in continuous engagement of the Casual workers by the various departments of Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Mr. Sharma suggested that the Government of India need to take policy decision similar to that taken during the year 1993 to grant temporary status to all the DRMs both who are paid daily wages at the rate of 1/30th of the pay at the minimum of the relevant pay scale plus and the Daily Rated Mazdoors engaged on minimum wages notified by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration so that their engagement get secured and subsequently subject to availability of vacancies in the departments where the Casual workers and DRMs are engaged their service can be regularized.
