Work-charge employees of the Aboi Division PWD workers who have not been paid for 22 months protested at the SDO PWD (R&B) office on February 2.
Dimapur, February 2 (MExN): Entering the second day of statewide protests against nonpayment of salaries for the last 22 months, the work-charge employees of the Nagaland Public Works Department in Aboi Division gathered outside the office of the SDO PWD (R&B) Office on Wednesday.
The protests are being organized under the aegis of the All Nagaland PWD Field Worker Association (ALPWDFWA) which comprises of fixed pay workers or work-charge employees under the department of PWD (Roads and Bridges) Nagaland.
According to a press release, the President ANPWDFWA Aboi Division Sholem Konyak said that the workers in Aboi have also not been paid for 22 months like their counterparts in other parts of the state, despite sincerely performing their duties. The office of the SDO PWD (R&B) Aboi Division will remain closed until the department releases their salaries, it said.
The association stated that the concerned department has to review and pay the salary of the employees while also questioning the Government of Nagaland as to how it expects fourth grade employees to survive without the payment of salary. “It is the only source of income,” it said, adding that the employees have been doing their best for the good of the department.
Further, the association stated that most of the work-charge employees who had retired were not given the right scale of pay or regularized even during the time of retirement though they had served the department with utmost sincerity. “Further in the year 2015, the Association had also won a Court case for non regularization of service/work charge employees thereunder, but the process is still on hold at the department level,” it said.
It also claimed that according to public opinion in Aboi, “it was through the work-charge labourers that the maintenance of road in villages or district roads are being taken care of.” There were times when the road used to be blocked by trees or tall grasses but these days, we can see the road being cleared and workers being deployed in every nook and corner of our division, it maintained.
Urging the state Government to pay the pending salaries, the ANPWDFWA also requested the government to consider the regularization of service of present employees at least fifteen years before retirement.
