MARGAO
The Goa Municipal Employees Association has expressed its support for Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s budget announcement to regularise daily wage municipal workers, which will benefit around 900 workers across the state.
Association President Keshav Prabhu and General Secretary Anil Shirodkar addressed the media, stating that of the total 900 workers who will now be entitled to temporary status, many have been working with the Margao Municipal Council for years.
The workers are expected to start receiving their benefits once the government formulates the rules within the next two months.
Prabhu highlighted that this is the second time in two decades that daily wage municipal workers have been regularised by the government, the first being during the tenure of Digambar Kamat’s government. “The file to regularise the 900 daily wage workers was first moved during the tenure of then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, but due to some issues, the workers could not get the benefit. The untimely demise of Manohar Parrikar further delayed the regularisation,” he explained.
Prabhu acknowledged Chief Minister Sawant’s support for the regularisation of daily wage workers, noting that the announcement had been delayed due to technical issues before the 2022 Assembly elections.
He thanked Chief Minister Sawant, Urban Development Minister Vishwajit Rane, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, and the Director of Municipal Administration for their contributions to realising the long-standing demand of municipal workers.
Shirodkar credited Margao MLA Digambar Kamat for his continuous follow-up with the Chief Minister.
