---------------------------------------------------- Do GOACAN a favour, circulate this email to your family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. Help others be BETTER INFORMED, The time is come for the people of Goa to ORGANISE not AGONISE !! --------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre (GDRC) Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------- Lifeguards reject govt plea ---------------------------- The indefinite strike by the lifeguards entered the third day today, even as they refused to heed to the request made by the director of tourism to resume duties.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Wilfred de Souza, has said that the lifeguards have not approached him with their problems so far and he learnt about their problems yesterday through media reports. Dr de Souza, who is also the Tourism Minister, said that he would like to help them but cannot appoint them by-passing the recruitment rules and that due process has to be followed in regularising any person in the government service. The Deputy Chief Minister said that he was aware that the lifeguards were being paid less salary but expressed helplessness as they were the employees of the society. "Such thing should not happen," he added. He said that many of the lifeguards were recruited by the GLRES during the reign of the previous Bharatiya Janata party government, with an aim to provide back door entry to some of its workers by recruiting them as lifeguards. Dr de Souza also said that the process of recruitment in the government was a long process and since most of the posts of lifeguards were allowed to be lapsed by the earlier government they (posts) have be be revived before people were employed. "We are trying to correct the wrong done by the earlier government," said the Tourism Minister. He said that he has directed tourism secretary to look into the matter and the process of reviving the post has already begun. He also said that striking work is not the proper way to get the grievances redressed, even as he wondered why the lifeguards did not resort to striking work during the BJP rule and agreed to work on the terms and conditions as laid down by them. Earlier, striking lifeguards, numbering nearly 70 and recruited by Goa Labour Recruitment Employment Society and employed on contract with the tourism department, told 'The Navhind Times' today that they are being harassed by the society officials and do not want to work under it any more. They also said that each lifeguard is paid an amount of Rs 2,787 as salary though the tourism department pays the society Rs 4,200 per lifeguard. The society officials refuse to tell them why the rest of the amount (Rs 1,213) was being deducted, and only known deduction is provident fund. They, however, said that though provident fund is deducted, they do not know how much is the amount as no pay slips or certificates are issued to them. "We are told to inquire about PF deduction from the office of the PF commissioner," they added. In absence of any pay certificate, they said, they are unable to get loans and that their salaries are always delayed and that they are paid in the second half of the month. They said that they have had enough from the society officials and would now would like to work only under tourism department. They also said that they do not get sick leave or offs on public holidays and that the only day they get off is their weekly holiday and eight casual leaves. The insurance amount also is meagre they said adding that their jobs are highly risky. The lifeguards said that though they took up the matter with the tourism department officials, seeking regularisation in government service, in the past but nothing has been done to absorb them or to provide them better pay. -------------------------------------- The Navhind Times 13/8/06 page 1 -------------------------------------- ====================================== GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy ====================================== -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/attachments/20060813/964369d4/attachment.htm _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
