VASCO
Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) workers on Thursday threatened to go on a strike if salaries pending for two months are not cleared by Monday.
The decision came after Anil Shirodkar, secretary of the MMC Workers Union, had a joint meeting with MMC Chairperson Damodar Kaskar and Chief Officer Jayant Tari over the salaries pending for two months.
Speaking to reporters after a joint meeting, Shirodkar said the patience of MMC workers had reached a breaking point after silently working despite not getting salaries for two months.
"Government officials don’t seem to be bothered about MMC workers who clean the city and even collect garbage. The MMC claims to have applied for a diversion of development grant and the matter is pending for approval and have assured to clear the salaries by Monday, but the salary delay has become a regular issue now in MMC.”
"Octroi tax belongs to the municipality and the Maharashtra government has even made an amendment in this regard and we have also given the copy to the MMC,” said Shirodkar.
He claimed that the union of municipal workers across Goa will stage a statewide issue demanding that municipalities be given the right to collect octroi so that no municipality faces the issue of clearing salaries to workers.
"We will go on a strike if pending salaries are not cleared by Monday. Workers have loans, rents, instalments to clear. The government says no-work-no pay and we will decide that no-pay-no-work and immediately go on a strike from Monday after serving a legal notice.”
“We have asked the MMC to clear our pending salaries, arrears, dues of pensioners and 7th pay arrears," Shirodkar added.
