Railway contract workers stage protest in Visakhapatnam seeking better service conditions
Railway contract workers, owing allegiance to the CITU, staged a protest opposite the DRM office at Dondaparthy here on Monday demanding job security to contract workers, implementation of minimum wages and labour laws. Holding banners, they raised slogans in support of their demands.
CITU district general secretary R.K.S.V. Kumar and union leaders M. Rambabu, O. Appa Rao, Srinivasa Rao, Venkateswara Rao, U.V. Raju, Venkata Rao and Mouli were among those who participated in the protest.
The main demands of the contract workers include absorption and regularisation of all contract workers, scrapping of four ‘anti-worker’ labour codes, black listing of contractors, who resort to rampant violation of labour laws and issue of appointment letters to all contract workers, issue of photo identity card and railways, as principal employer, should own responsibility to ensure that the contract workers were paid wages on time.
Later, in a letter submitted to the to the DRM, the union leaders alleged that minimum wages are not being paid to thousands of contract workers in Waltair Division. The workers at the railway station are being paid ₹400, a day, as against ₹651, a day, prescribed for unskilled workers, ₹734 for semi-skilled and ₹948 for skilled workers. They sought action against the contractors concerned for non-payment of wages in accordance with the rules.
The workers should be given one holiday a week, as per the labour laws. They should be allowed to work till they attain 60 years of age. But, these rules were not being followed by the contractors, the union leaders alleged. They also sought that a team should be formed to work on a regular basis to alleviate the problems of contract workers.
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