Asok prod on civic pay hike

Siliguri: Mayor Asok Bhattacharya has demanded a monthly fixed grant and an enhanced pay packet for the casual and contractual employees serving in different civic bodies across Bengal.

In a letter to minister for municipal affairs department Firhad Hakim, he has requested him to provide permanent jobs to these workers while urging the minister to sit across the table with employees' trade unions and settle the issue.

Bhattacharya in his letter has mentioned that over one lakh people have been recruited as civic volunteers. Also, similar recruitments have been also done in the fire service and education department.

"Contractual teachers have been recruited in different schools and the state is providing financial support to them. But in the civic bodies, it is the municipality or the municipal corporation that has to bear the salaries and wages of these temporary workers and the government is not taking any initiative for making them permanent," said Asok.

He also mentioned that the state has not approved recruitment in some of the vacant posts at these civic bodies.

"The state should adopt a policy for these workers so that they can get increment very year and can be provided with gratuity after retirement. Their jobs should be made permanent. The government must provide fixed grants to us to pay these workers," he added.

To resolve the issue, the state should also hold talks with the employees' unions, said the mayor.

The move, observers said, is yet another attempt by Asok, who heads the sole Left-run civic body in north Bengal, to mount pressure on the state.

The Telegraph