Team Herald
VASCO: A group of members of Goa Port and Dock Employees’ Union recently met Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik and handed over the memorandum requesting him to pursue the matter of pending arrears of Mormugao Port Trust employees.
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The memorandum submitted by the union members to the Minister states that the union would like to espouse the genuine issue concerning the payment of pending arrears of the MPT employees arising out of wage settlement dated August 3, 2018, for your kind and sympathetic consideration.
Firstly, the wage settlement of port and dock workers has been signed on August 30, 2018, thereby revising the wage structure of the port and dock workers w.e.f. January 1, 2017 and the revised wages had been implemented to the Mormugao Port Trust employees and pensioners w.e.f. January 1, 2020, which results in the accumulation of the arrears burden of Rs 120 crore approximately.
Secondly, it is pertinent to note that except Mormugao Port Trust, all the major ports in the country have made the payment of wage settlement arrears to their workers. However, the management of Mormugao Port Trust failed miserably to make payment of arrears, it states.
It pointed out that it is also worthwhile to mention that the union had proposed several alternatives to the port management to settle the pending dues of arrears of the employees and pensioners including terminal benefits of retired employees.
Some of the alternatives are the MPT is earning Rs 60 crore approximately per annum in the form of interest on the pension fund. To sort out the issue, it is proposed to temporarily divert the interest amount earned on the pension fund to clear the pending dues of the arrears and other terminal benefits of employees and pensioners. Presently, the total accumulated pension fund is Rs 880 crore approximately and the pensioners made payment from the current account. The total amount utilised to pay pension is Rs 125 crore approximately per annum. However, the MPT can temporarily divert the said fund to pay the pending dues of arrears of the employees and pensioners and the regular pension payment to be made from pension fund. The port may be permitted either to take loan from the ports pension fund to the tune of Rs 120 crore approximately which can be accumulated to the pension fund by depositing on yearly basis or loan from other port trust which could be repaid in instalment on yearly basis.
In view of the above, the Goa Port and Dock Employees’ Union has requested the union minister to impress upon the management of Mormugao Port Trust to clear the pending dues of arrears of the employees and pensioners by exercising any one of the above mentioned alternatives.
