KL Report
AKHNOOR
On the labourers day the minister for PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma, while describing the PHE workers as real work force for maintaining water installations and regulating water supply across the state, has said that government will protect their rights besides ensuring justice to them.
As per a statement Sharma was addressing a gathering of PHE workers at a function organized here today in connection with commemoration of May Day. On the occasion the Minister has said that government will ensure regular disbursement of wages to all workers who have been engaged up to 2005 in PHE Department on a uniform pattern.
“The government will also explore possibilities to regularize their services in a phased manner. After the adjustment of all those engaged up to 2005, a well-knit strategy will be devised to absorb such workers who were engaged after 2005 and till 2009. In this regard, authentic information about the number of such workers who are on regular role after 2005 is being collected and efforts are afoot to keep a provision of their regular wages”, Sharma said.
Rubbishing speculations at different circles about the disengagement of daily rated workers in PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control Department, the Minister has said that government cannot afford to disengage them as they are manning the essential services. He has said water supply schemes worth crores of rupees have been set up which cannot be kept at the mercy of God, adding that these schemes are running smoothly because of the casual/temporary workers at the grass root level. He, however, has cautioned the officers to be more careful in future while engaging any worker on new scheme. He has issued clear instructions to the officers to keep ‘permanent’ provision of manpower and their recurring expenditure on operation of schemes while conceiving the new projects to avoid such situation. He has also said that PHE is the essential sector and this will continue to make new schemes and manpower will be the important component to make operational all such projects, therefore, a well-devised strategy will be devised to take care of it.
Responding to plight of the workers, the Minister has said that government was fully aware of their problems, but due to financial constraints it is not possible to address all these immediately. He has said their all outstanding issues will be addressed in a phased manner after making permanent provision of funds on regular basis. He has asked them to take care of all government assets and protect the equipment from damaging due to human error. A proper track will be maintained for each damage and cause will be minutely examined, and negligence, wherever found will be dealt seriously, said the Minister.
Throwing light on the day, the Minister has said that the occasion reminds him about the great struggle and numerous sacrifices by the trade unionists while fighting for the cause of Labour class worldwide. He has asked the workers and trade union leaders to make collective efforts for welfare of the workers. They must project their demands to the government in a most legitimate way as confrontations cannot yield any positive result.
