VASCO
The Mormugao Port & Railway Workers' (MPRW) Union has demanded compulsorily employment to the locals by giving them preference. The MPRW made the demand at the All India Port & Dock Workers Federation Convention at MPT Vasco on Monday.
According to a press note, MPRW during the Convention highlighted redeployment and retrenchment, paving move of privatization of Mechanical Ore Handling Plant (MOHP). The MPRW demanded compulsorily employment to the sons of soil by giving preference.
The other local issues at MPT that were highlighted were contempt of Supreme Court order on non-filling of compassionate employment (5%) since more than a decade and immediate filling of the vacant posts, non-filling of Class-III and Class-IV
operational posts which can be filled up as there is no
restriction.
It also highlighted the issue of violation of payment of wages to staff employed by MPT on contract basis. Contract workers to be effected on par with the wages of regular employees, 20% quota of Class-IV employees to be elevated to Class-III ministerial category as per the directives of the government, removal of restriction of Child Care Leave for only 2 months in MPT and granting CCL as per government order, elevation of Class-III to Class-II posts on par with the Class-II to Class-I posts and restoration of welfare privileges immediately.
The convention, which also discussed national issues, was addressed by the leaders of All India Port & Dock Workers Federation PM Mohammed Haneef, President, GM Krishnamurthi, Working President, Leonardo Rodrigues, senior Vice President, Thomas Sebestian, Joint Secretary, and CJ Mendonca, general secretary of All India Port & Dock Pensioner's Association.
Hundreds of activists including women employees, who are members of MPRW union, participated in the convention.
The MPRW Union's Convention of All India Port & Dock Workers Federation urged the Shipping Ministry to fill the vacancies of chairman and deputy chairman of several major ports, which are vacant since months together. In addition, Head of Department's posts are also kept unfilled in certain ports which infact affected the day-to-day functioning of the major ports.
The convention appealed to the chairman of Bipartite Wage Negotiation Committee (BWNC) to conclude the proceedings of BWNC at the earliest. The meeting expressed its serious concern on the hectic action initiated by the government to outsource and privatize several activities of major ports.
The convention criticized government's move to replace the existing Major Ports Trust (MPT) Act by Ports Authority Bill under the pretext of providing more autonomy to the ports.
The convention also demanded the Ministry of Shipping to rectify the anomaly created by their recent orders on the Wage Structure of group ‘C & ‘D' employees, states the press note.
