the goan I network
MARGAO
The Goa Municipal Employees Association on Tuesday has resolved to go ahead with the day-long strike on June 29 in the municipal areas across the state in protest against the failure of the state Administration to resolve their long-pending demands.
The top brass of the association led by President Keshav Prabhu, general secretary Anil Shirodkar and representatives of the associations (municipality wise) resolved to go ahead with the strike.
The association pointed out that the government has not responded to their demand till date and neither has the initiative of the Labour Commissioner to hold conciliation proceedings have borne fruit.
“We feel this is the only mode by which we can highlight the plight of the municipal workers facing hardships for want of a concrete decision by the government and the municipal bodies,” association general secretary Anil Shirodkar told The Goan.
He said the government has not acted on the recommendations made by the municipal councils from across the state to regularize the daily wage workers, many of whom have put in more than half a decade of work. “The recommendations of the councils for regularization of the daily wage workers are lying unattended. We have no option than to go on a one-day strike to highlight the issues,” Shirodkar said.
When his attention was drawn to the decision adopted by the workers attached to the Margao sanitary section not to participate in the strike since it will only cause more hardships for them, Shirodkar exuded confidence that all the municipal workers and employees will join the strike on June 29.
Margao sanitary workers say they will not, continue with work on June 29
MARGAO: It’s now official. Margao Municipal Council’s sanitary workers have decided to defy the one-day strike called by the All Goa Municipal Employees Association on June 29 and resolved to clear garbage from the city on Friday.
The daily wage door-to-door garbage collection workers will also continue their work on June 29, indicating that exercise will continue unhindered. ]Even as the MMC employees owing allegiance to the All Goa Municipal Employees Association resorted to the daily protest dharna in the municipal garden, the sanitary workers, including garbage workers, drivers and sweepers assembled in front of the municipal building on Wednesday noon to convey a message that they will not join the strike on June 29. Sanitary Inspector Viraj Arabekar told the garbage workers, sweepers and drivers working on the garbage trucks that the June 29 strike called by the association is not in their interest for the simple reason that they will have to put in more work to clear heaps of garbage the next day. “The garbage workers and sweepers will be the most hit if we go on the day-long strike. The garbage generated in the city is pegged at around 70 tonnes a day. This means we will have to lift around 140 tonnes of waste from the city after the strike the next day,” Arabekar pointed out. He also took potshots at the leadership of the Goa Municipal Employees Association, demanding to know why the issue of strike was not discussed with the employees and workers by calling a general
body meeting.
