PERNEM: In a display of frustration and financial distress, employees of the Pernem municipality staged a protest under the banner of Gomantak Mazdoor Sangh. Around 16 workers, comprising 14 daily wage laborers and two regular employees, gathered to demand the release of their long-overdue wages.
The workers also revealed that the provident fund deductions from their salaries had not been credited to their PF accounts for over a year.
In addition to the daily wage workers, some retired employees and widows of staff members who had passed away while on duty joined the protest. They expressed their disappointment at not receiving the PF amounts due to them long after their husbands had passed away.
One of the protesting workers said, “We haven’t received our wages for the last two months, which has forced us to halt our work and take to the streets in protest. Without any income, we demand answers from the municipality on how we are supposed to survive. We have school-going children, and we need money for their school expenses. We have made numerous requests and written letters, but they have fallen on deaf ears. As daily wage workers, are we expected to work without receiving our hard-earned salaries?”
A widow of a former staff member added, “My husband worked for the municipality, and it has been five years since his passing. However, we are yet to receive his PF amount. I have completed all the necessary formalities and paperwork, but the payment remains pending.”
Responding to the workers’ demands, Siddhesh Pednekar, the chairperson of the Pernem Municipal Council, stated, “I have already discussed this matter with the chief officer and accountant, and within the next three days, the outstanding wages for the last two months will be released. Regarding the PF issue, we have already released the PF contributions from our end.”
