TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Following Supreme Court direction to government to pay 50 per cent of wages to all mining workers who were either laid off or not being paid wages by the mining companies for the past 18 months due to the closure of mining operations, the Directorate of Mines and Geology has sought detailed information from mining firms about such employees by May 7.
Director of Mines Prasanna Acharya said that directions have been issued to all the mining companies registered with the department to submit detailed report on the number of workers employed, laid off or were not paid salaries during the mining ban period.
In the opinion of the All India Trade Union Congress nearly 65%employees, working on contract basis, Aattached to mining companies were laid off following the Supreme Court ban imposed on October 5, 2012. The employees include drivers, cleaners besides mine workers.
In the recent Apex Court judgment, the State government, which owns the ore, has been directed to conduct e-auction and pay the workers 50 percent of their wages. After the two e-auctions, the total ore auctioned is approximately 1.62 million metric tons and the total value realized is Rs 260.68 crore.
The State would be going for third e-auction on May 12, wherein 6 lakh metric tons of ore would be auctioned. Government is expecting nearly Rs 2000 crore from e-auction of the total 15 million metric tons of extracted ore lying at leases, jetties and port.
The Supreme Court has pointed out that under Section 25C of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947, when a workman whose name is on the muster rolls of an industrial establishment and who has completed not less than one year of continuous service under an employer, is laid-off, he is entitled to be paid by the employer for all the days which he was so laid-off.
State government had in March 2013 announced financial package of up to Rs 12,000 per person who is unemployed due to closure of mining business.
