Municipal contract workers want pending salaries

Kakinada: Seeking salary arrears and immediate establishment of tricycle workers society in the corporation, the Kakinada Municipal Contract Workers Union members led by the AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress) staged a dharna at Municipal Corporation Office here on Thursday. The agitators raised slogans against the corporation officials and demanded that the local body release the pending salaries.

Speaking on this occasion, AITUC district vice-president Tatipaka Madhu said that the workers were in dire straits because of non-payment of the salaries for the past five months. He criticised that the salaries were being paid only when the Corporation Council gives its accord for the same in every meeting of the council. Non-payment of salaries for want of the Council’s consent was nothing but playing with the lives of the contract workers, he lamented.

He demanded that the authorities recognise the tricycle workers as the society workers and implement Supreme Court order of ‘equal pay for equal work’.

Speaking on this occasion, tricycle union secretary Nakka Kishore demanded that the authorities recognise them as a society and implement ESI (Employees State Insurance). He also said that the corporation officials should supply uniform, gloves and other necessary tools to all the tricycle workers. Corporation Commissioner Siva Parvathi assured them to provide justice to the workers as per the norms.

AITUC district vice-president PS Narayana, Union members Ganta Lazar, Lova, Subba Lakshmi, Appalakonda, Manga Lakshmi and others participated in the dharna.