Thane Municipal commissioner okays union’s demands; to settle arrears, absorb contractor workers

THANE: Municipal commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal made the festive season even more special for employees after he okayed several long pending demands of the union, including the absorption of temporary TMT workers and payment of arrears to the tune of Rs 100 crore contract workers.
The announcement was made late on Friday at a meeting held between the administration, elected representatives—including Mayor Meenakshi Shinde—and members of the municipal labour union. Several issues like payment of special allowances to workers, payment of arrears after the implementation of the amendment to minimum wages act for workers and absorption of temporary staff who have been working with the TMT for over a decade were discussed.

“We have been fighting for our rights since the last 15 years. We had also approached the state and were coordinating with the civic commissioner. The contract workers are employed with the corporation throughout the year and deserve a decent amount as it was sanctioned by the state in 2015. Accordingly, the commissioner has agreed to comply with our demands, including paying allowances to the contract staff and absorbing workers who have been working throughout the year for TMT,” said president of the municipal labour union Ravi Rao.

The commissioner is said to have agreed to the demands as he attributed the growth of the TMC revenue over the last four years to the hard work put in by these workers, said an official.

The administration claimed that the implementation of these initiatives is likely to cost the TMC Rs 100 crore this fiscal. However, as the amount is huge, the administration will pay the arrears to the staff in five instalments.