While the State government boasts of job creation by industries, the industrial estates in Ponda Taluka like others across the State are reeling under agitations of workers who are mainly protesting against poor salaries, which are insufficient to make a decent living. Most of these agitations are by temporary workers either for confirmation in their jobs or for increase of their meagre salaries paid by their factory managements.
Some industries in Industrial Estate in Ponda pay salaries which range from Rs 215 for unskilled labour and Rs 265 to Rs 300 or Rs 350 for skilled labour, which does not allow them to meet their day-to-day requirement. Some of labourers who include woman are even paid around Rs 180 per day. Thus the monthly salaries of poor working class labourers range from Rs 4000 to Rs 9000 which is insufficient for them to make ends meet. Further there is no job security for them like the confirmed workers.
The meagre salary issue is the main issue that affects the life of working classes and their families causing them much stress. Due to increasing inflation this labour class fails to meet their daily needs due to increasing cost of living and some times it forces them to resort to crime, due to ever increasing aspirations.
Even if these temporary labourers try to form unions, the companies or factories do not like it and often terminate their services if workers agitate unitedly. Secondly, it is a very common (illegal) practice that companies increasingly employ labourers through a contractor in order to avoid agitations. The contractors take his commission from each of the workers from their salaries for the hard work done. According to these labourers the contract system of employing followed by factories or through contractors is anti-labour and Government should abolish it to minimize their suffering which affect their livelihood.
Presently, most of the factories, prefer to employ labourers on contract basis due to which the strength of confirmed labourers in factories is reducing day by day.
The recent example of striking workers at Bethora Industrial estate highlights this suffering of workers more than ever. Amit Naik states their misery, by narrating that he along with his five co-workers were among the 115 employed on a daily wage of Rs 215 per day by one factory on temporary basis at Bethora. They had recently gone on a strike to confirm their services. But the company, fearing their unity, attempted to create a split between the temporary and confirmed labourers.
It called the confirmed labourers and settled their grievances and made them to join duties. On the other hand, the temporary workers were not allowed to enter the company premises without giving any reason and were terminated from services. But according to these labourers the reason was that despite giving break the company employed them for last more than 10 years and they supported the confirmed labourers strike in forming their union. The Company discontinue their services fearing the demand for confirmation of temporary workers. “We have complained to the labour officials but justice takes it own time. We don’t know if we will get justice or the company will take new labourers in our place,” one worker stated.
According to Gomantak Mazdoor Sangh workers leader Putu Gaonkar whatever meager salary is paid presently ranging from Rs 5000 to Rs 8000. They call it a starving wage. He further narrated how minimum wage is derived as per set norms. He said it is well accepted norm that the Government, employers and workers in the Tripartite Committee of the Indian Labour Conference held in 1957 decided that workers should get the living wage as defined in the said conference and affirmed by the Supreme Court in its various judgements. As per Tripartite Committee our association has calculated the minimum wage as Rs 17000 as minimum salary and submitted to the Government. Today the daily wage would be Rs 650 per day.
While calculating the minimum wage according to the Tripartite committee the various factors which need to be taken into consideration are 1. Calculating the minimum wages a standard working class family should be taken to be comprised of three consumption units for the earner, –the earning of woman, children and adolescent being disregarded. 2. Minimum food requirement. 3. Clothing. 4. House rent 5. Fuel, lighting and other miscellaneous items should constitute 20 percent of the total minimum wage. Based on this justification the Gomantak Mazdoor Sangh had given memorandum with a detailed chart which shows how the minimum wage adds up to Rs 17114, which works out to Rs 650 per day.
The recent agitation in the Captial city witnessed the agitation of hundreds of workers due to meagre salaries paid to contract workers thus impact their life seriously. Our association leaders have submitted memoranda to labour secretaries time and again requesting for hike in the minimum salaries to be paid to workers. According to him at present the minimum wage of Rs 215 for semi skilled workers and Rs 265 and above for skilled workers was fixed two years back and therefore the new minimum wage should be fixed by Government to remove the unhappiness among workers over minimum salaries. Further anti labour policies should be withdrawn including the contract system and workers should be provided with all facilities including Provident Fund, bonus and all other mandatory allowances under the law. According to him around 1.5 lakh labour force is employed in Industrial Estates in Goa and it is not the very big cost to be spend on labour by managements as compare to many other heavy expenditure incurred in production. But since many times the other production cost cannot be minimized the factories often exploit the labour class. Out of around 1.5 lakh labour at least some companies are paying them 10 percent of this labour force, a salary ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25000 and above.
