Demands not met, FCI workers hit the streets

Our Correspondent

Abohar, July 21

Members of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) Shramik Union on Thursday held a demonstration at the local FCI office as part of the country-wide stir.

The outfit’s national vice- president Sriram Nooniwal said that a meeting of the national body will be held on July 31 at its New Delhi headquarters to finalise the arrangements for a massive demonstration at Jantar Mantar and the FCI central office on August 1.

In the meanwhile, Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) Prince Grover has fixed a conciliatory meeting on July 21 over the apprehension of the pooling of the workers by the FCI in some other depots and deployment of contract labourers.

Nooniwal flayed the Centre and the FCI management for delaying implementation of their legitimate demands.

“The negative attitude of the management and government in approval and implementation of settled demands will not be tolerated,” he said.

He said the Centre was planning to denotify 226 depots of the Food Corporation of India.

There is a move to discard grain storage facilities in the godowns owned by the Central Warehousing Corporation and private companies.

No efforts were made to fill vacancies of 14,000 workers by accommodating kin of labourers who had died during service. “We have decided to hold protest at each depot across the country, he added.

Nooniwal said the FCI had agreed to give bonus of Rs 7,000 to workers who were paid a monthly salary of Rs 21,000 but the arrears have not been paid for 2014 - 2015.