Anil Kerkar
GGEA Secretary John Nazareth made a statement on June 21 that Goa Government had granted them the facility of Saturday, Sunday off or 5 days a week taking into consideration that Government employees should have a good balance between working hours and spending (hours) time with their family members. And that they are rejecting the proposal of the Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar that they should consider attending duty on the last Saturday of the month which can be utilized for completing the pending work or for Swatchh Bharat Abhiyan. Government should see how private employers are suffering on this front. Chief Minister or Industries / Labour Minister may say that these are private workers and hence we have no role in the matter.
But at the same time, the politicians say we, the private employees are sons/daughters of the soil and that all are having equal rights. But what soil of right? Or are we always going to be used as guinea pigs? We the Industrial workers are responsible for improving the GDP of the country and not the Government employees, but what do we get in return? Lathi charged? Because we come on the roads in support of our demands. We the private workers are being used as voters since long. Now, the time has come to change this scenario in the private sector as well. Our working hours are lengthy.
People are working in shifts for six days and get one day off which is spent in sleeping after night shift. There is no bus transport facility in Goa for the people to come home after 2nd shift which ends at 12:00 in the night. Therefore the remaining part of the night we have to spent in the bus or in the office or changing room by seating in a chair. One will be highly flabbergasted if I tried to list the problems faced by industrial worker whose number is over 3,00,000 in Goa. Will the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister, kindly look into the matter and try to solve the hardships faced by private / industrial / vontract worker of the State and Country?
