MAPUSA
After abstaining from work for the whole day on Friday, the striking workers of the Mapusa Municipal Council decided to temporarily call off the strike late Friday evening and resume work from Saturday onwards, pending the decision on their charter of demands which will be discussed by the council on October 31.
Sanitation and administration work suffered partially owing to the strike of work by permanent workers.
The decision to defer the strike was taken in a late evening meeting between Mapusa Municipal Chairperson Shubhanghi Vaigankar, Chief Officer Amitesh Shirvoikar and president of all Goa municipal employees association Keshav Prabhu.
Mapusa Municipal Vice Chairperson Chandrashekar Benkar, other councillors and the committee of the Mapusa civic employees association were also present for the meeting.
“The civic authorities have said they will decide on our demands in the council meeting on October 31. We expect a positive outcome. Since there is the Diwali festival and people should not suffer, we are holding back the strike till October 31,” Prabhu told The Goan.
Around 147 permanent workers stayed away from work since early Friday morning on account of the failure of the council to fulfil their demands for almost a year.
Garbage was not lifted in a few pockets in town and the market as sweepers and sanitation workers have also joined the stir.
The Mapusa Municipal headquarters, however, was besieged by the striking workers, who demonstrated from early morning till late evening when the decision to defer the strike was taken.
A few policemen were present near the Mapusa Municipal building in the evening, but the strike was by and large peaceful.
Tyres deflated, truck overturned
MAPUSA:
Some municipal employees deflated the tyres of a garbage truck and overturned it on its side on Friday morning, blocking the entry to the mini-waste management site at Cunchelim.
Mapusa Municipal Chairperson Shubhanghi Vaigankar and Chief Officer Amitesh Shirvoikar submitted a complaint with the Mapusa Police against the civic worker/s involved in puncturing the vehicle.
The civic authorities got the CCTV footage of the employee/s who was involved in the act.
“We have received a complaint, but we have not registered an FIR yet. We want to establish the identity of the person who is seen in the CCTV camera,” Mapusa PI Paresh Naik said.
No effect on civic work, says Mapusa chairperson
MAPUSA:
Putting up a brave face, Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson Shubhanghi Vaigankar said the sudden strike called by the permanent civic employees has neither affected the functioning of the municipal administration nor the garbage collection.
Vaigankar also said that the temporary and the contract staff managed to run the show on Friday without a hitch.
“We have around 200 temporary and contract staff in the municipality who rose to the occasion and performed beyond expectation on the first day of the strike. It’s a clear indication that we can run various civic works despite the absence of the permanent staff,” Vaigankar said, but quickly added, “We don’t say we do not want the permanent staff. What else can we do if they have decided to strike work all of a sudden?”
The chairperson informed that despite facing financial constraints, the council released the yearly bonus and uniform allowance of around Rs 5,000 for the staff on Thursday, but they went ahead with their strike from early Friday morning.
