VASCO: Around 400 workers of Western India Shipyard Ltd (WISL), along with members of the Aam Aadmi Party and Shiv Sena, held a massive rally from Headland Sada to Vasco on Thursday morning to protest the nonpayment of salaries for the last ten months. The rally culminated in a meeting in front of the Mormugao municipality building.
The aggrieved workers even blocked the main road at Headland Sada, thereby disrupting the movement of traffic and causing a massive traffic jam on the busy Vasco-Mormugao road. Due to the blockade, school students had to face hardships while travelling to their exam centres.
According to the workers, they sought help from all quarters, but their efforts were futile, and thus, they had to come onto the streets to make their voices heard to the State as well as Central governments.
“It is ironic that no one from the management is coming to the yard to resolve our issue. We are living without salary for the last ten months. Our children’s education is at risk as we are unable to pay the fees. Many of us are occupying rented rooms and the owners are asking us to vacate the premises due to pending rent. We made representations to our local MLA and Minister Milind Naik, then to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and even to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, but no one came to our rescue. Our children even wrote letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention, but nothing happened. We had no option but to come out on the streets,” said a WISL worker.
Trade union leader Ajitsing Rane stated, “The State BJP government gave only assurances, but finally remained mute spectators. We cannot tolerate such an attitude from the government towards the people, and thus, held a protest rally to open the government’s eyes. If we still see no action from the government, then we might intensify our agitation.”
