CENTRE of Steel Workers (AICCTU) organised a one-day dharna on 2 February 2019 at the Equipment Chowk in Sector-1, Bhilai to raise burning issues facing steel workers and contract workers. The speakers sharply criticised the anti-worker policies of the Central and State governments and the Managements, and extended full support to the rightful demands of the steel workers and contract workers. They said that the BJP government’s last Budget is nothing but a packet of Jumlas to divert attention from their failures.
At the conclusion of the dharna, separate memorandums were submitted to the Bhilai Steel Plant Management and the HSCL Management to demand a speedy resolution of the problems faced by steel and contract workers.
The memorandum submitted to the Bhilai Steel Plant Management says that the non-implementation of the wage agreement which should have been implemented from January 2017 is causing great financial loss to the workers. Retired workers are deprived of pension benefits as the SAIL Pension Scheme hangs in limbo. Workers are facing great difficulty because of the long-time stay on leave encashment; in the absence of leave encashment, workers face financial problems for necessary expenditures like children’s education, and are forced to take loans for these basic needs. It also points out that most of the work in the Steel Plant is now being carried out by contract workers and their participation in production work far exceeds that of regular workers, and yet they are being shamefully exploited and denied their rights.
The memorandum makes the following demands: immediate implementation of wage agreement; speedy implementation of SAIL pension scheme; strict implementation of leave encashment and labour laws; attendance cards, pay slips, PF slips, ESI cards, guarantee of payment of wages by the 10th of the month for contract workers; opening of ESI Hospital in Bhilai; strict implementation of safety rules and regulations inside the Steel Plant. In addition to the above demands for contract workers, the memorandum submitted to the HSCL Management demands immediate payment of arrears to HSCL workers who have taken voluntary retirement.
