Betul ONGC assures to consider wage issue of 200 contract staff

Betul ONGC assures to consider wage issue of 200 contract staff
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
CANACONA, DEC 14
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) Betul assured to consider the long-pending wage issue in favour of its over 200 contract workers, after Quepem MLA Chandrakant (Babu) Kavlekar took up the matter with the Corporation on Tuesday.
It may be recalled that Khola Bachao Abhiyan President Precopio Fernandes had taken up the issue of the contract workers’ wage and regularisation with the management and had also threatened that locals would launch an agitation if assurances given by the central government while putting-up the project at Betul-Canaguinim to the locals are not honoured in true spirit.
Fernandes had charged that ONGC had promised 80% jobs to the locals when people were agitating against coming-up of the project but had engaged locals on contract basis and since then paying them just meager daily wages without any other benefits and enhancements whatsoever.
Fernandes had earlier addressed a letter to Director (Off-Shore) ONGC asking his intervention in the matter, before the issue blows further.
On Tuesday, reportedly at the insistence of Fernandes, Quepem MLA Kavlekar along with Gomantak Mazdoor Sangh President Nelson Rebello, Secretary Santosh R Dessai, Treasurer Alistar Fernandes, Quitol/Betul Communidade Attorney Bhikaji P Dessai and KBA president met ONGC General Manager Wajid Ali Khan.
In the meeting, Kavlekar reportedly minced no words in conveying to the ONGC GM that the issue should be resolved within a month’s time or virtually warned that “otherwise I will take-up the matter seriously.”
A three-point solution finding option is given to the ONGC authorities by MLA Kavlekar, as he specifically said either local people working on contract basis for as long as 13 long years should be permanently absorbed or make a MOU with the local workers like in the rest of ONGC locations or keep the local workers on some fixed tenure basis (10 years or 15 years).
Fernandes informed that vast tract of Communidade land was made over to the central agency after assurances were given of priority in jobs to the local populace, but they continue to be kept on contract basis even though they are doing all more specialised jobs like electricians, technicians, etc, besides house-keeping and other odd jobs.
The ONGC GM on his part reportedly assured to take-up the matter favourably with his higher ups and specified in trying to solve it in a month’s time.
However, the GM reportedly took a view that all the contract workers are paid in accordance with the local government labour laws which envisages that a minimum wages of Rs 150 a day should be paid to daily-wage workers.
Gomantak Mazdoor Sangh President Nelson Rebello said: “There are no other benefits whatsoever, and even workers engaged a day ago gets the same payment as paid to workers of 13-14 years.”