LABOUR SNIPPETS August 2022

Implementation of ESI Across the Country by 2022

The Labour Ministry has issued a press statement that the Employees' State Insurance Corporation will implement their health insurance scheme – ESI – throughout the country by the end of 2022. The ESI has already seen a full implementation in 443 districts and partial implementation in 153 districts. It stated that a total of 148 districts are not covered under the ESI scheme. This is being done to augment the medical care and service delivery mechanism across the country and that by the end of the year, the districts which are partially covered and not covered under the scheme will be fully brought under the ambit of the ESI scheme. 

Gas Leak in Andhra Leaves Hundreds of Workers Sick

Around 200 women workers in the Atchutapuram SEZ fell sick due to ammonia gas leakage from a nearby plant. The workers began to vomit and felt dizzy, and were rushed to the nearby government hospitals for treatment. This comes in just two years after the lethal styrene vapours leaked out of LG Polymers killing 12 workers and hospitalizing over 300 workers. Even though a probe has been ordered into the incident, there are no forthcoming assurances from the state government.    

Crisis in Salt Sector

India is the third largest salt producer in the world and Gujarat is one of the main producers of salt in the country. The salt farmers and workers are demanding proper system for wages and social security. There is a growing crisis in the salt industry with the farmers bearing the brunt of the demand and supply issues. The salt farmers stated that they are facing low price as there is no minimum support price and the workers are also in distress due to a lack of proper system for wages and social security. The farmers state that they get about Rs. 250 to Rs. 300 per tonne of salt, whereas their input cost for labour is about Rs. 1 lakh. Some of the manufacturers too are demanding that it be declared a seasonal industry, just like agriculture, and must be extended crop insurance and minimum support price. 

Teachers Demand Salaries

In June 2022, the Delhi University’s Executive Council and Finance Committee wrote to the Vice-Chancellor of the University seeking disbursal of salaries without any delay. Extreme level of workload they are put through, the delay in paying emoluments is putting them through hardship. It was stated that for 1,200 students in a master’s course, there were only 12 or 13 permanent teachers and therefore, they are put through disproportionate and inhuman level of workload. Alongside this, there has been a delay in extension of work for ad-hoc teachers, which is adding to their stress and difficulties.

In Meghalaya, after a long drawn battle from the ad-hoc teachers, the state government has conceded to their demands to increase their salary by Rs. 9,000. This means that higher-secondary teachers will get Rs. 33,000, secondary school teachers will be paid Rs. 29,000 and science teachers will be paid Rs. 31,000. For lower and upper primary teachers, there will be a hike of Rs. 6,000. Hence, lower primary teachers will be paid Rs. 18,000, upper primary teachers will be paid Rs. 22,000, Hindi teachers Rs. 18,000. 

Similarly, in Karnataka, about 1,000 teachers who teach students with disabilities organised a protest demanding increase in wages of both teaching and non-teaching staff of special schools. It has been stated that the honorarium to schools are paid under the Child Centric Scheme (CCS), which was doled out to encourage a higher proportion of student enrolment and to achieve 100 per cent literacy rate among children with disabilities. The teachers are paid an insufficient amount of Rs. 13,000 a month. The teachers who have to provide education to children with disabilities are specially-trained and skilled in therapy and teaching techniques. Given the large number of students with disabilities, the teachers demand an increase in their salaries. 

Ford Workers Protest at Maraimalainagar Plant

Several hundred workers of the Ford Maraimalainagar plant have launched a struggle demanding better compensation as the company has decided to shut down the plant. The union members, who spoke to the media, stated that the management offered 85 days’ pay for every completed year of service, along with a fixed sum of Rs. 42,500/- for every completed year of service. Earlier, the company had offered 75 days’ salary and a fixed sum of Rs. 20,000 for every completed year of service. The workers claimed that in the same automobile industry and in the same region, compensation of up to 135 days’ wages for every completed year of service was being paid and the same was being demanded from the Ford company. They said that there are around 2,600 permanent workers and about 1,000 contract workers at the Maraimalainagar plant, and the closure of the factory will lead to a loss of 3,600 direct jobs and about 30,000 indirect jobs. 

BSNL Employees’ Unions Demand Restoration of All Abolished Jobs Post-VRS 

After close to 79,000 employees opted for voluntary retirement scheme in 2020, the remaining workers and employees in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited are facing many issues, which continue to remain unaddressed by the officials running the PSU. Taking to protest last month, several hundred employees under the banner of ‘All Unions and Associations of BSNL’ stated that there has been no timely redressal of any issue faced by them. This means that the operations and maintenance of the public sector is taking a hit. As nearly half the workforce took up VRS, the employees claimed that all posts of executives and non-executives were abolished, thus ensuring no upward mobility for the existing employees, and that there have been massive cuts in vacancies alongside contractualisation of jobs. The employees stated that under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), the centre has plans to monetise 2.86 lakh kilometer of optic fibre cables as per the Bharat Net project, as well as 14,917 mobile towers owned by BSNL, and that the Central Government has been deliberately delaying the rolling out of 4G services alongside the monetization of telecom assets. 

Sanitation Workers Protest in Tamil Nadu and Punjab 

Staging a protest in Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu), the sanitation workers demanded regularization of employment, along with equal pay for equal work, increase in wages and setting up of sexual harassment committee at the workplace to provide a safe and conducive working environment for the women workers. They also demanded that the existing 139 vacancies be filled up to meet the demands of the expanding jurisdiction of the municipality. 

The protest sought for regularization of 90 sanitation workers who are currently working under a sham contract system, and sought that they guarantee equal pay for equal work as directed by the Madras High Court recently, and that wages of Rs. 596 per day be guaranteed to the workers. 

They, further, demanded regular payment of wages, safety equipment, provision of ESI and EPF facilities among others. 

The women sanitation workers in Ludhiana began a relay hunger strike from 5 July 2022 demanding regularization of service of workers under the sham contract system. As part of the protest, the workers resorted to dumping garbage on the road to block it and locked the main gate of the Municipal Corporation office. The officials then agreed to address the demands of the workers. 

Beedi Workers in West Bengal Seek Increase in Wages

Stating that the beedi workers are being paid a meagre amount of Rs. 116 for every 1,000 beedis, the workers took to protest demanding an increase in their wages, standard payment scale system, better healthcare facilities, better working conditions and identity cards from the government. These workers who suffer severe detriment to their health due to rolling beedis have sought better healthcare benefits from the government, including support for their families.