HERALD: Do you think the Mayor’s decision to unilaterally take back the striking workers go against the council resolution on outsourcing. Is it legally and morally right?
Kabir Pinto Makhija: After the assurances made to the workers on Christmas eve that the matter would be resolved in a month, workers were required to start clearing up the garbage that was piled up all over the city. The same evening around 7:30pm we received a letter informing about the same as well as stating that a Council meeting had been called for on December 26 at 11 am. The Mayor was unable to call a meeting that evening as it was Christmas eve and the next day as it was Christmas. At the Council meeting on December 26, the Mayor assured us that he would show us the minutes of the meeting he had with the government officials on December 24 as soon as he received the same.
HERALD: Do you think this action of corporation in withdrawing the strike will lead to long term solution? Or don’t you think it will lead to strike in the next couple of weeks or months?
KPM: Panjim was held to ransom by the striking CCP workers and the city was stinking as garbage was not collected for several days and was piled up all over the place. The CCP Commissioner did a commendable job of trying to clean up the city with the new work force that had been hired after talks with the striking workers failed.
On December 22, St Cruz MLA Atanassio Babush Monserrate, myself and several Corporators from Babush’s panel met the striking workers and initiated a dialogue with them as talks had broken down earlier. The daily wage workers were demanding that they be made permanent as some of them have been working with the CCP for over 10 years and that their present daily salary of Rs 221 should be increased. We felt that these two demands of the workers were genuine which needed to be met, and on humanitarian grounds it didn’t seem fair to terminate the services of over 300 workers overnight.
Thereafter we held a meeting with the CCP Commissioner regarding the same. Later that evening we held a meeting with the CCP Commissioner and the union but the issue remain unresolved. On December 24, the Mayor without informing us met the Deputy chief minister, Chief Secretary and Director of Municipal Administration, and on their assurance that the demands of the striking workers would be looked into and resolved within a month, agreed to reinstate the striking workers.
HERALD: How many times in the past year have there been strikes called by these workers on the eve of a festival?
KPM: Holding a strike during any festival is a very wrong thing to do and it should not happen in future. The city should not suffer and dialogues be held with the concerned authorizes. Resorting to strike is not the solution.
