MARGAO
Terming Thursday’s strike by the Margao Municipal employees as total illegal, Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes reminded the employees that bonus is a luxury and is normally paid when there are surplus funds in the coffers.
Standing by his comments that Madgavkars and Fatordekars will not forgive the MMC employees and workers if they hold the city to ransom if the Diwali bonus is not paid by the civic body, the Chief Officer said his priority for the moment is to clear the monthly salaries of the employees, other pensionary benefits, staff pension, etc. “Bonus is a luxury. It is not a matter of right of the employees. It depends on the financial position of any body, including the surplus funds,” he said.
Saying the Municipal strike is totally illegal as the Municipal services comes under the Essential Services Act, Agnelo said the Union was required to serve a seven-day strike notice on the Municipal before going on strike. “No one has the right to hold the city to ransom. That’s the reason I had made the statement that Madgavkars and Fatordekars will not forgive the employees,” he added.
