01 Dec 2022  |   08:14am IST

Make it mandatory for new lease holders to employ retrenched mine workers, GMPF urges State govt

The GMPF President has also called on the government to implement its decision to hike the wages of industrial workers at the earliest, without giving in to the opposition from small scale Industries

Team Herald

PONDA: The Goa Mining People’s Front (GMPF) has demanded that the State government impose a condition that new lease holders employ retrenched Goan mine workers when they resume operations, if they want to restart mining without any hurdles. While condemning a recent statement from the Director of Mines and Geology, who said it is not mandatory for bidders participating in the auction of mining leases to employ retrenched Goan mine workers, GMPF President Puti Gaonkar warned of widespread agitations if the government failed to safeguard the interests of the mining-dependants, who lost their livelihoods when mining was halted, nearly a decade ago.

“There is already a provision in the law to employ retrenched workers, even if the leaseholders are changed,” said Gaonkar, who addressed a press conference here on Wednesday.

He said that the government has already started the auction process and even announced the names of the leaseholders.  “It is mandatory as per mining law, to employ retrenched workers if mining activity resumes,” said Gaonkar, recalling an assurance given by former CM Manohar Parrikar in the Assembly in 2018, after iron-ore mining was halted. “The late CM Parrikar had said that leaseholders would be required to employ retrenched workers on a preferential basis, when mining re-starts in the State. 

The present CM, Pramod Sawant had also recently 

repeated this assurance,” said Gaonkar.