Labourers demand revised rate
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 19 2014 : Labourers of Sangaiprou FCS godown today staged a protest demonstration at Keishampat Lairembi Community Hall under the aegis of the CAF&PD Labourers' Welfare Association.

The protest demonstration was demanding payment of wages at the revised rate.

After a prolonged agitation, wages of labourers engaged at the godown were raised in August this year.

Accordingly, labour charge for handling one quintal was hiked to Rs 24 .

CAF&PD Labourers' Welfare Association president O Moba said that they were told by the contractor concerned they would be paid only Rs 4 per quintal after deducting Rs 20 by the contractor.

Moreover, the labourers were also asked to submit fresh enrolment forms apart from circulating an unofficial notice that 35 new labourers would be engaged.

As all the new directives of the contractor were unacceptable to the labourers, they launched a cease work strike from August 16.All the 61 labourers working at the Sangaiprou godown have been registered with the Labour Department.

Most of them have been working as labourers for the past 20 to 30 years.

Even as they have been engaged in the profession for around 20 years and more, the contractor told them to submit enrolment forms and accept labour charge of just Rs 4 four for handling one quintal of load.

The contractor also made it clear to accept his conditions or stop working.

This is the predicament of the 61 odd labourers and it implies that the Labour Department is unable to implement labour laws effectively, Moba said.

Many of the agitating labourers have been working at Sangaiprou when labour charge for handling one quintal was just Rs 76 paise.

Their wages were hiked most recently in August this year after they undertook an unusual agitation of chaining themselves from July 6 to August 1.Asking whether the hike in wages was meant for labourers or the contractor, the protesters urged the authority concerned to allow them to work at the godown at the wage revised by the Government in August.

They also put up placards which read as "Implement labour laws effectively", "Don't violate fundamental rights of exploited labourers", "Bring CAF&PD labourers under Industrial Disputes Act 1947", "Don't sacrifice hundreds of labourers in the interest of a single capitalist", "Give up the notion might is right" etc.

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