MeECL workers demands equal pay

SHILLONG, OCT 18: Casual workers of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited today demanded the state government to direct the MeECL to immediately implement the Supreme Court’s order of ‘equal pay for equal work’ pending regularization of their services.

Under the banner of the MeECL Progressive Workers’ Union (MPWU), a delegation of the casual workers also met the Minister in-charge of Power Comingone Ymbon for his necessary intervention into the matter, here on Wednesday.

“As the nature and feature of our job remains the same as those of regular workers, while we await regularization through due process, we demand immediate implementation of the Supreme Court’s order of equal pay for equal work,” union president Mantiphrang Lyngdoh Kiri told reporters after the meeting.

He said the government should also ensure legal entitlements and statutory benefits as per Labour laws like PF, ESI, overtime, gratuity, bonus, accident compensation, maternity benefits which every ‘workman’ is entitled to by law.

“As longstanding ‘casual’ workers who have been doing work of ‘regular’ nature we also request you to begin the due process of regularization of our work,” Kiri also said in the memorandum submitted before the power minister.

The union president said that the minimum wages being presently paid to over 1500 casual workers which include meter readers, LDA, chowkidar and others, is also yet to be revised for the past two years. According to him, wages should have been revised once in every six months.

On the other hand, TUR leader Angela Rangad, who is supporting the casual workers, alleged that the MeECL had attempted to change the designation of the casual workers to avoid compliance of the order passed by the Supreme Court.

It may be mentioned, the casual workers of the MeECL are staging their ongoing agitation by observing black flag day and lunch protest in the different parts of the state to opposed the “illegal” contract agreement, which seeks to deprive them of their rights.

Asked, Kiri however said that the power minister assured the delegation that he would take up the matter with the MeECL’s chairman-cum-managing director PS Thangkhiew.

“He (Ymbon) told us that he cannot give any assurance at the moment as he would have to first to talk to the CMD and accordingly get back to the union on the outcome,” he said.

He also said the minister also assured to facilitate dialogues and negotiations between the management and the workers.

By Our Reporter