PANAJI
Despite the Bombay High Court judgement upholding a retrenchment order, some 93 workers of Sesa Mining Corporation Limited formerly operating a mine in Bicholim have struck luck -- they find themselves with the opportunity not only to be back on the roster of the holding company Vedanta Ltd, but also retain 'continuity of service'.
The Vedanta management, which now owns SMCL, said it has extended an offer for employment to the SMCL workmen at its recently won Bicholim mining block, including assuring them benefits of continuity of service and protection of prevailing salaries.
The offer however is for workmen willing to accept the employment terms of Vedanta Limited such as multi-skilling, productive working arrangements such as hot seat and, initiatives for ensuring effective working hours besides mobility across its different business units as per needs.
Some other conditions, include support for skill upgradation, automation, safety initiatives, machinery upgrading and outsourcing without any prejudice to workmen's employment, a media release said.
SMCL was the lease holder of the Bicholim mines which were shut down by the Supreme Court order which brought curtains down on the mining industry across Goa in February 2018.
Four years later, Vedanta Limited had initiated the process of retrenching the workers which got the Union government's nod. The workmen however challenged the retrenchment before the Bombay High Court at Goa, which however upheld it by a judgement passed in early June this year.
Meanwhile, over the year the proceedings went on before the High Court, the State government began fresh mining block lease auctions and Vedanta won the lease for the Bicholim block again, a development which prompted the workmen and the SMCL management to make a case for absorption instead of retrenchment.
Accordingly, Vedanta Limited (VL) took the decision to offer them employment in the mine it has now won the lease for.
"While SMCL had an option to immediately retrench its workmen and VL had no employer employee relationship with the workmen of SMCL, with an intent to provide livelihood to these workmen, Vedanta Limited's Management, expressed its willingness to magnanimously consider SMCL's workmen for employment at Vedanta Limited's Bicholim Mineral block," the media release said.
Vedanta is committed to the growth and development of Goa and to the upliftment and welfare of people in areas of their operations, it added.
