Port Blair, Oct 03: The Centre of Indian Trade Unions, Andaman & Nicobar State Committee appreciates the decision of the Andaman & Nicobar Administration to extend the financial benefit under the scheme of 1/30th of pay plus DA at the relevant scale scheme of the Government of India, to the daily rated mazdoors working in various departments like APWD, Forest, etc. of the Administration. CITU and trade unions affiliated to it in the APWD and Forest Departments have conducted intensive struggles for the last several years demanding implementation of the above scheme of the Govt. of India. About 4000 daily rated mazdoors are working in the APWD alone against the vacant posts in the Work Charged establishment. Andaman Sarvajanik Nirman Vibhag Mazdoor Sangh (ASNVMS) (affiliated to CITU) has been pursuing the above demand at various levels in the APWD during the last several years. Several rounds of discussions were held with the Chief Engineer, APWD, Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary (PWD/Finance), Secretary (Labour) etc. Even after the in-principle agreement of the Administration to extend the financial benefits under the above scheme of the Govt. of India to the daily rated workers of APWDduring 2016, the APWD and Administration continued to avoid implementation of the said scheme on one pretext or other, mainly on the ground of paucity of funds, but the CITU Union (ASNVMS) continued to mobilize the workers and carried out a number of agitations including strike.
Almost all the daily rated workers working in the Divisions of APWD from Campbell Bay to Diglipur had participated in the agitation including strike and supported the Union. However, when the issue was at the final stage of its approval, some ruling party politicians who had no idea about this issue/demand, carried out some drama at the last moment to take political advantage, but daily rated mazdoors of APWD who fully know that it is the CITU and its Union (ASNVMS) had been fighting for them, did not participate in the so-called procession organized by them. In Forest Department, the Baratang Forest Workers Union had to fight court case upto Supreme Court. The Labour Court Award upholding the demand of the Union to extend the 1/30th of pay plus DA to DRMs of Baratang Forest Division was challenged in the High Court repeatedly several times. The Administration went on appeal to Supreme Court against the said Labour Court Award and the poor workers of Baratang had to spend lakhs of rupees for conducting court cases in High Court and Supreme Court.
However, Shri BP Ray, MP had supported the agitation of CITU Unions in APWD and Forest Department and took up the matter with various authorities besides raising the issue in Parliament. CITU notes that it was possible only with the favourable stand taken by Shri Anindo Majumder, Chief Secretary, A & N Administration who at every stage tried to speed up the issue and directed his officers to be sympathetic with the low paid workers. CITU, Andaman & Nicobar State Committee congratulates all the workers who stood behind the CITU reposing their faith in it and for actively participating in the agitations conducted by the CITU and ASNVMS and Unions in the Forest Department.
