PANAJI
The management of Vedanta Sesa Goa on Thursday said that if transportation of iron ore from the State did not resume by December 15, it will not be in a position to give any work to its workers and as a result it will not be able to pay salaries to them from December 18. The company, however, said it will not lay off workers.
The company had to cancel a shipment to China this week after some truck owners went on strike seeking higher rates.
Speaking to The Goan, Joseph Coelho, operations head at Vedanta said, “on one hand, the company's transportation of iron ore has not yet started and on the other, truck operators are demanding a higher rate in ore transportation. The situation is such that we have informed our staff that from next week, the company will enforce the no-work-no-pay policy.”
“The workers have understood our problem and have assured to cooperate with us. In fact, they have been cooperating with us since the past three years”, Coelho said.
A senior company official on condition of anonymity also said, “we had planned 1 million metric tonnes of export for December. The first shipment of 88,000 metric tonnes was sent to China. But the second shipment, planned to leave on December 8 was postponed to December 12 and since the transportation has stopped, we will have to cancel it”.
The union members held a meeting with the company management today.
According to Devanand Parab, president, Sesa Goa Workers Union, the management said the current crisis created by some truck owners has stopped the transportation of iron ore resulting in cancellation of a shipment. "We impressed upon the management that the problem of truck owners is their problem. We urge the company not to take a decision like this when mining has re-started”, he said.
Christopher Fonseca, general secretary, Goa Mining Labour Welfare Union, said, “We have expressed our collective viewpoint that the company’s decision should not be contingent upon a problem from a certain sector of mining that they are facing. This is because fate of thousands of workers depends upon this decision”.
Vedanta was the first company to announce resumption of mining in Goa after the Supreme Court lifted its three year-old ban on mining in the State.
Close to 5,000 workers are employed in Vedanta’s mines alone and their future is hanging in the balance. “Workers will agitate if Vedanta doesn’t give them work from December 18. The company has to make sure that its final decision on this issue is within the framework of law”, said Putu Gaonkar, union leader, United Goa Mining Worker's Union.
Union leaders seemed optimistic that there will be a positive outcome of this issue before December 15 and worst fate will not befall upon workers. However, if that were to happen, then it will be the first time in the history of Goa that a mining company will not be in a position to give work to its workers and obviously they will go unpaid.
