PANJIM:
With the State government failing to honour its assurance to fulfill the
pending demands of the lifeguards, the aggrieved employees are likely to strike
from the coming week.
With its
recruiting agency Drishti Lifesaving Services’ plea before the High Court of
Bombay at Goa – that sought to restrain lifeguards from going on strike –
dismissed as withdrawn on Wednesday, the lifeguards are at liberty to strike
work.
“The
decision on an indefinite strike pressing for various demands will be
taken tomorrow (Sunday) during Workers’ Day,” All India Trade Union
Congress (AITUC) Goa Convener Suhas Naik said. AITUC is backing the lifeguards’
demands.
The
lifeguards had struck work from December 29, 2015 to January 13, 2016 seeking
fulfillment of their demands. The strike was withdrawn following an assurance from the
government to reinstate 17 ‘victimized’ workers, raising monthly salary to Rs
15,000 per worker, and constituting a committee under the Contract Labour Act
to study and submit a report on abolition of contract workers and regularizing
services. The assurance had been made by Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar, on behalf of Chief Minister Laxmikant
Parsekar. The assurance included that salaries during the strike period will
not be deducted and they wouldn’t be harassed. None of the assurances have,
however, been implemented.
Tourism
Department which was a respondent in the petition filed by Drishti had
submitted to the court that “the intervention of the minister(s) on
behalf of the State government was to arrive at an amicable settlement
between the petitioner (Drishti) and the workmen.” The intervention, the
affidavit said, was in the larger public interest so that life of people going
into the waters would be protected.
