Team Herald
MARGAO: Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Dr Babita Prabhudessai while lambasting daily wage workers for involving people not associated with the council in official matters, said they are working very hard to solve the Provident Fund problem which has become difficult as Provident Fund is not only digitalized but also has gone online.
Addressing the daily wage workers who had protested in front of the MMC on Monday, she said they should have met her or the chief office as they were told that the problem would be solved. And when a worker pointed out that more than 15 days had passed since the assurance was given, she shot back “nothing happens in 15 days in government department as there are procedures to be followed.”
Pointing out that it was the Council that had increased their wages to Rs 500 per day, she asked the workers why they had gone to former chairperson Savio Coutinho, who she said, is only creating a tamasha for personal gains.
She said it was the chief officer who observed that the MMC was deducting 13 per cent of the wages due to a misinterpretation of the circular and accordingly had moved to issue the corrigendum which has since been done and added that the salary is delayed for the present month because of the workers will get it without deducting the 13 per cent.
“Somebody must have leaked out the information that the salaries are going to be rectified and that is why the whole drama of making the demand and the agitation to give the impression that it is done only because they had demanded,” she said.
She asserted that the mistake was discovered by the Chief Officer and the council moved to correct it when not even the daily wage workers had realized that extra amount was being deducted from their salaries.
Speaking to media persons, she said the people sitting on strike since Monday are also misled and that four of the retired workers would get their Provident Fund latest by mid-April. “The required corrections are being made in another seven cases,” she added.
She disclosed that Provident Fund has been digitalized and is comparing the names on birth certificate, Aadhar card, Provident Fund record. “If there is any difference noted, then, it has to be corrected which is a lengthy process,” she said.
Many of the retired workers who were also illiterate have different names recorded on different documents and hence there is a problem in getting their provident fund. However, Dr Babita said that she was personally following up those cases and matter would be resolved.
She urged the municipal workers to come to her directly with their problems instead of propping up outside persons as their leaders and allowing them entry into the council. For such actions, she warned that the council could make the workers suffer.
“We could well implement the rule that you have to work for 8 hours a day when in reality you do not even work for 6 hours,” she said adding that they overlook that considering the work they do.
