Port and Dock workers demand interim relief and bonus

Mumbai, Nov 12 (UNI) As the bipartite Wage Negotiating Committee meets in Chennai on November 16, the All India Port and Dock Workers Federation (AIPDWF) today demanded that the Government settle their demand of granting interim relief to the port and dock workers.

In a statement here today, Federation president S R Kulkarni urged the Commitee chairperson Rani Jadhav to settle the demand by the Federation for grant of interim relief in view of the inordinate delay in reaching a bipartire settlement on the wages and other service conditions of the workers.

''We don't know how much more time the Wage Revision Committee will take to reach a satisfactory settlement with the Federations, and that our demand for interim relief is justified,'' Mr Kulkarni said.

The Federations have also demanded that productivity link bonus for the last fiscal should be paid to workers as per the amended provisions of the Bonus Act as in the past.

According to Mr Kulkarni, the represenatives of the recognised Federations will meet in Chennai on Novmber 15, a day prior to the Commitee meeting, to chalk ouit their future strategy for securing their two demands.

The Shipping Ministry in January this year had constituted a Bipartite Wage Commitee under Rani Jadhav, who is also the chairperson of the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), to liberalise the wage structure and service conditions applicable to the port and dock workers at all the major ports in the country. The cut-off date for restrucured wages was kept as January 1, 2007.

''However, despite the lapse of 10 months period, there has been no progress in the work of the Committee,'' Mr Kulkarni added.

UNI