Port Blair, April 30: On the occasion
of "MAY DAY" Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Member of Parliament and
President INTUC (A&N Islands) and all other leaders of INTUC and it's
affiliated Trade Unions has expressed solidarity with the labour community and
the working class people belonging to government, private, organised and
unorganised sectors and assured to fight for their legitimate cause and
wellbeing. Shri Sharma conveyed to workers and labours who eagerly wait
for the May Day procession, that due to prevailing lockdown imposed for
maintaining social distancing to fight against COVID-19 pandemic there shall be
no May Day procession in the Islands.
He said,
though decision of lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in our Islands
was inevitable but at the same time it left a vast section of our population
high and dry who are poor, weaker and marginalized, particularly not
belonging to organised or formal sector. In our Islands there is a very vast
unorganised or informal sector which has become the most vulnerable in the
lockdown. There are lot many people in the Islands also belonging to
unorganised sector such as fishermen, fish vendors, agriculture labours, street vendors,
small tea/pan shops, persons working in various traders/merchant shops, house
maid, auto rickshaw, bus, car, jeep, truck, van drivers, cleaners, harour and
truck labours and various categories
of vehicles involved in tourism and
local transport, cargo transportation, public carrier etc., coconut vendors,
bamboo labourers, automobile garage workers, carpenters, cook and waiters,
cobblers, barbers, dhobi, tinsmiths, blacksmiths, tailors, plumbers,
electrician, workers in mills, food vendors, domestic workers, vegetable
vendor, security guards, small boat workers in tourism industry, priests
MGNREGA workers etc who are daily wage earners, for them if
they don’t earn they can't eat, hence staying at home for such a long period
has become a question of survival for them and need to be provided free ration
and financial assistance of Rs.5000/-to meet the essential needs of
livelihood.
To combat the unemployment situation in
the Islands Shri Sharma expressed that there should not be any retrenchment of
daily wage, casual, contract and Part Time workers engaged in various
departments and autonomous organization of A & N Administration and also of
Central Government functioning in the Islands and demanded for their
regular appointment. He said that there is no uniformity in monthly wages being
paid by various departments of A&N Administration to the temporary
employees engaged on casual, short & annual term contract basis
despite the Supreme Court order of "equal pay for equal work" and the
DoPT direction in this regard. He further emphasised that the vacant posts held
with various departments need to be filled expeditiously from the unemployed
youths of these Islands by stopping online system.
Shri Sharma said that beside government
employment, Tourism, Fisheries and Farming are the major sectors which provides employment
to Islanders. The Administration need to make business friendly policies in all
these sectors and particularly in the tourism sector so that it become easy for
the Tourism industry revive and survive post lockdown period. To attract more
tourist to visit the Islands, the administration must proactively take up the
matter of extending the additional Leave Travel Concession given by Government
of India to the Central Government employees to visit A&N Islands in lieu
of Home Town LTC by air to A&N Islands which is expiring on 25.09.2020 as September being the beginning of Tourist season in
the Islands.
Shri
Kuldeep Rai Sharma said that there are lot many issues concerning to the
working class people of our Islands which are regularly brought to the notice
of the Administration and in most of the occasion relief is rendered by the
Administration. Being a Member of Parliament representing the people of
these Islands it is my privilege to raise the issue concerning to working class
people and Labours of both organised and unorganised sectors at the highest
level and no stone shall be left unturned in this regard said Shri Sharma, a
communication said.