Patancheru Effluent Treatment Ltd workers protest for higher wages

Patancheru: CITU district committee member Nageswar Rao on Tuesday accused the management of Patancheru Effluent Treatment Ltd (PETL) of adopting an 'adamant attitude' towards its workers.

Speaking after the PETL workers staged a dharna demanding regularisation and enhanced wages, Rao stated that the staff who had been working for years were continuing with wages for Rs 8,000-9,000.

He accused the management of treating them like bonded labour, without making any distinction among the skilled and unskilled staff. He demanded payment for Rs 21,000 as the minimum wage and withdrawal of the break-in-service of one each every month among 50 employees, while accusing the management of resorting to threats.

Rao said workers were facing inconvenience in the absence of a canteen, while criticising the management for failing to provide minimum facilities to them. He threatened to organise a massive agitation if the demands were not conceded. Among those present in the dharna were workers Narsimhulu, Anand, Venkatesh, Anjaneyulu, Durgayya, Mangamma, Ganesh and Lingam.