Stir against NHPC demanding job regularization continues in Lakhimpur

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: Stir against NHPC Limited, initiated by the Contract Basis Workers' Union (CBWU) of Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHP) from April 5 continues. Notably, despite consecutive prayers and petitions, demonstrations of protest programmes and several series of talks, NHPC Limited has still not regularized the jobs of over 300 workers from the State of Assam, working since 2000 in the SLHP being constructed at Gerukamukh in Dhemaji district. In this connection, CBWU of NHPC Limited initiated extensive postering campaign on April 5 and April 6 in several districts of the State to demand the job security of the workers concerned. Then the organization demonstrated protest by wearing black badges on April 7 and April 8. On the other hand, the organization scheduled to stage boycott on April 19 and April 20, sit-in strike on April 21, hunger strike on April 22 and April 23 and total sine-die non-cooperation from April 25.

Amid such agitational environment, NHPC Limited has invited the CBWU for talk. It was informed by Premeswar Saikia and Jhony Pegu, the president and the secretary of CBWU of NHPC Limited respectively on Monday.

In this regard, the president and the secretary said, "Amid the series of stirs initiated by CBWU to demand for the regularization of the jobs of workers, who have been working at SLHP of NHPC Limited for 21 years on contract basis, we are invited for talk, by continuing the past trend, to be held on April 13 in mediatorship of the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (C) at Kendriya Shram Sodan, R.K. Mission Road, Birubari, Guwahati."

The invitation has been sent to the organization through a letter vide No. G/R 8(08)/2022-Dy CLC(C) dated 05/04/2022 and the union and management are asked to adhere to the provisions of section 22 of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. The organization has accepted the invitation and decided to attend the talk on the scheduled date by honouring the Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (C).

However, the CBWU has declared that the organization will continue the serial stir if NHPC Limited does not initiate the adequate steps to resolve the issue on that day during the talk.

It should be noted here that NHPC allegedly promised in black and white that the power generating corporation would regularize the jobs of contract basis workers of SLHP and appoint them permanently while holding talk with the CBWU. It was also alleged that NHPC Limited kept the job regularization process pending under the pretext of anti-big dam agitation. Moreover, the NHPC authority also kept the job regularization process pending by declaring that the recommendation of the State government was required in order to regularize the job of contract basis workers. But the State government has also allegedly not taken any step in this regard though the CBWU submitted consecutive applications to the Chief Minister, along with local MLAs, MP and ministers.

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