PANJIM: Contract labourers working with Goa Public Works Department (PWD) and registered under the Goa Trade Union Congress (AITUC) on Tuesday protested outside PWD head office demanding regularisation of their services and to immediately stop the recruitment drive done in violation of recruitment rules.
Speaking to Herald, AITUC President Suhas Naik said contract laborers who have been working with PWD for more than 10 years have still not been regularized and on the contrary the government is going ahead with the recruitment drive in violation of recruitment rules while a writ petition filed before the High Court of Bombay at Goa is pending.
AITUC demanded that the government regularise the contract laborers and immediately stop the recruitment drive. If the government fails to accept the demands, all essential maintenance in the city will immediately stopped, AITUC warned. “The contract labourers don’t get bonus, no proper casual and maternity leaves, no upgradation and also never get their salaries on time,” Naik said.
“The government has failed to regularize contract workers working under the PWD for 10 years and on the other hand recruited new labourers directly on permanent basis,” he said.
He said PWD has never given preference to contract labourers and not provided them with any support. “These labourers work in inhuman conditions like cleaning of sewage and sweeping and the PWD never felt the need to provide them with safety gloves” he said.
