CITU members to go on fast over Karcham row

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 30

The CPI-led CITU leaders today declared that they would sit on an indefinite hunger strike from July 2 in Shimla.

They apprehended that an influential section in the government was likely to resort to violence at the 460 mw Shongtong-Karcham power project site in Kinnaur to crush peaceful strike by project workers continuing since March.

The leaders alleged that the district administration of Kinnaur was not serious about resolving the workers’ dispute about pending wages and other issues.

Apart from sending a complaint letter to the Principal Secretary, Labour, CITU state secretary Dr Kashmir Thakur and its senior vice-president Rakesh Singha alleged at a press conference here that certain vested political interests wanted to create trouble at the project site.

“Anti-social elements were transported yesterday to create trouble by intimidating the workers on strike”, they alleged. “They want to crush the strike. Both EPF Commissioner and Labour Commissioner have found violations of the labour laws there”, they claimed.

Since the dispute is pending before the Labour Court, Shimla, the contractors and the company cannot recruit fresh workers till the dispute is resolved. Even Labour officer Kinnaur had directed both the HPCL, which is executing the project, and its contractor, Patel Engineering Company, not to recruit workmen without following the procedure laid down under law, they added.

Singha further alleged that there was a nexus among construction mafia, a section of the bureaucracy and certain influential people who are hell bent on creating large-scale violence in the project area. “Such a conspiracy needs to be nipped in the bud”, he stated.

Section 9-A and Section 33 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 forbids the company from changing the service condition of the workers without following the procedure laid down by law, Singha said adding that no worker can be terminated without seeking permission of the Labour Court.

The CITU leaders charged that the state government was not serious on the issue. The Labour Officer, who has issued notices to the company, has been transferred. “We have no option other than resorting to the chain hunger strike which will be joined by the workers of the project till they get justice”, they asserted.