The much anticipated wage revision agreement for about 90,000 employees (non- executives) of the Steel Authority of India limited (SAIl), including about 16,000 employees of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) was signed in National Joint Commission for Steel (NJCS) meeting at New Delhi on Tuesday.
The agreement was signed by representatives of the leading trade unions and SAIl authorities in presence of SAIl Chairman CS Verma.
According to a Press release, the agreement will benefit about 92,000 non-executive employees of the steel conglomerate SAIl and will be effective from January 1, 2012.
The arrears effective from this agreement will be released in two equal installments and the first installment shall be released latest within July 15 next, the release said.
With the news of signing of this much awaited agreement coming into force on Tuesday evening, happiness spread all across the Steel City here, particularly among the RSP employees and their family members.
Significantly, the wage revision of all non executive employees of SAIl is finalised through negotiations at national level bi-party forums, namely NJCS, which exists since 1969 and has been instrumental in finalising nine wage revisions. The agreement was due since last two and a half years and despite repeated meetings between the representatives of unions and SAIl management, the agreement was not signed.
After the agreement, the employees will be paid their increased salary from the current month.
According to sources, the employees of SAIl will be provided a seventeen per cent hike over their basic pay and dearness allowances (DA). Besides, the employees will get 6 per cent of their basic pay as their fringe benefit, and six per cent of the basic pay contribution from the management to the employee’s pension account etc., as per the benefits of the new agreement.
“It is a matter of great pleasure for all of us that the much awaited wage revision agreement was signed,” said AITUC affiliated Rourkela Steel Mazdoor Union general secretary Pravat Mishra.