Ranchi Municipal Corporation promises wage clearance for daily wage workers ahead of Durga Puja

Ranchi: Officials from the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Saturday met a delegation of the Jharkhand Nagar Nikai Mazdoor Union (JNNMU), an umbrella outfit of daily wage workers working for the civic body and assured to clear the pending wages before Durga Puja later this month. The meeting came days before JNNMU’s scheduled strike from Sep 10, which threatened to derail the state capital’s sanitation work ahead of the festive season. To deter the workers from hitting the streets, the RMC also agreed to consider the cases of retrenched workers and reinstate them in genuine cases. Steps are also being taken to provide identity cards to the workers.RMC deputy administrator Gautam Prasad Sahu said, “A high level meeting would take a decision on demands regarding policy matters like providing maternity leave, national holidays, earned leave, bonus and wage increment. A written information on the demands approved by management would be intimated to the union on September 8.”JNNMU working president Pratik Singh claimed that on their demand for regularization of the workers who have worked for 10 or more years, the management said that the proposal has been sent to the urban development department adding that a decision would be taken by the latter. Later in the day, JNNMU leaders held a meeting with the workers at the Old Vidhan Sabha ground where the former informed about the decisions of the management. The participants resolved to continue preparation for September 10 strike adding that a final decision would be taken on the issue on September 8.