PANAJI
The retrenched mining workers of Vedanta Sesa Goa from Bicholim mine, on Friday marched onto the company's Patto office, Sesa Ghor, demanding to clear their provident fund (PF) and other pending dues at the earliest, failing which they have threatened not to allow mining activities at the block and also to take legal recourse.
The Vedanta Sesa Goa, on the other hand, in a statement said that the files pertaining to clearing of the PF is pending with the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) and that the company is continuously following up with the organization for expediting the process.
Close to 150 employees, who were retrenched from the service in June 2023, have been protesting since the last two months to get their pending dues. The workers were assured by the company that their dues would be cleared before December 2023 end.
“The mining block is already auctioned. The company is neither clearing our dues nor is it ready to take us back to work. What should we do? We have already submitted all the documents but despite that the PF is not cleared. It is our hard-earned money,” a worker said.
The workers have now threatened not to allow the mining activities to take place at the mineral block and also to move court for justice.
In its statement, the company said that the application for withdrawal of PF were submitted by the workers on November 1, 2023 and since then the company is following up with EPFO for an early release of the dues.
“The EPFO has its mandated processes to follow with associated timelines. Vedanta Sesa Goa has accomplished all preliminary actions in quick time and now the process is awaiting clearance from the EPFO and there is no delay on our part,” the company said.
