MMC workers celebrate after job regularisation order

Bhimshakti Sangatan celebrated the victory of Margao Municipal Council workers after the High Court ordered that their services be regularised. Santosh Mirajkar

MARGAO

Margao Municipal Council (MMC) workers celebrated a big victory on Tuesday, a day after the High Court ordered the regularisation of their services, ending a four-and-a-half-year struggle. Twelve workers were felicitated by Bhimshakti Sangatan for bravely taking the fight for justice to the High Court.  

Giving background on the case, Congress leader Savio Coutinho said it all began when the workers had visited the MLAs of Margao and Fatorda to thank them for the decision to regularise their jobs. However, BJP leaders from both constituencies allegedly used their influence with the government to get the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) to issue a stay on the appointment orders on 10 June 2020. “This happened during the Covid period, which made things worse as salaries had already been pending for several months. It was a tough task to collect the documents needed to make a strong case in court. Even MMC refused to give some key papers, so we had to gather documents from the Labour Commissioner’s office and the Personnel Department,” Coutinho said.  

He claimed that there was a lot of pressure on the workers to withdraw the petition, but they stayed strong and did not fall for false promises from local leaders. The petition, filed on 8 January 2021, appeared on the court board 75 times over the four years and seven months. Coutinho alleged that delays happened mostly because the government’s lawyer kept asking for more time.  

Coutinho, who is also the South Goa President of Bhimshakti Sangatan — an organisation led by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Chandrakant Handore — said the group would always support those who are ready to fight for their rights.  

“We will fight for everyone, no matter their caste, class, or religion, for the rights guaranteed to all Indians by the Constitution given to us by Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar,” he added.