CALANGUTE: As the monsoon fades, the Electricity Department distributed raincoats to its employees. This could only mean two things –the raincoats are either too late for these rains or that the department is farsighted and wishes to equip its men for the next monsoon. To add to the workers woes the linesmen have not been paid their salaries for the past five months.
The raincoats were distributed around a month back and the last salary was paid in April, for the month of March.
Some 140 linemen working at sub-stations such as Porvorim, Mapusa and Calangute have not been paid salaries from April. The last payment the employees received was a 22-day salary for March after being absorbed on March 7. Also, though the department has received flak for power cuts, and has had its staff working round the clock in the rains to restore power, after power cuts, due to falling branches, a delay in delivery of raincoats has ensured that raincoats were available to staff as late as a month back – too late for this monsoon, but early for the next.
“I was not informed, but will look into it,” Chief Electrical Engineer S Laxman said while commenting about the non payment of salaries. He added that the executive engineer is normally responsible for such payments. Laxman puts the probable reason down to possible issues with their joining formalities.
Though department officials admit that there was a delay in delivery of raincoats, and they were given to staff around a month back, they say that only those who did not have their old raincoats would have been affected as raincoats are normally issued for two years.
“We have distributed raincoats to all divisions,” Laxman stated, adding that next year they would distribute the raincoats as early as February.
On the salary issue, the staff told media that they had been raising the issue with their respective heads and Executive Engineer Rajgopalan and he had assured them that their salaries would be released as soon as possible.
“What we received last was a 22-day salary from the government and thereafter we are just waiting in hope for our salaries” said the line helpers.
The employees from some sub-stations have received their payments while staff of Porvorim, Mapusa and Calangute are yet to receive their pay packets from April 2014 onwards.
