The State Government has established an office of Joint Labour Commissioner (JLC) under the Employees Compensation Act, in Brahmapur to resolve the problems of labourers and employees of Ganjam and its nearby districts.
However, with retirement of the Labour Commissioner, the office is not functioning properly since last year.
The newly posted officer has no authority to deal with cases of gratuity and related issues. As a result hundreds of labourers and employees of Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts are deprived of justice.
Unfortunately, even after Polosara MLA Srikanta Sahu became State Labour Minister, the problem could not be resolved.
Senior lawyer Kailash Chandra Mishra has stated that the Government has not given divisional responsibility to Ganjam Labour Commissioner for which hundreds of files of the labourers and employees couldn't be disposed of for last one year.
In 2021 Laxmidhar Rath was appointed as Commissioner but without authority under Gratuity Act. Next Dipti Ranjan Mohanty was placed but in the same manner without authority. As such, he too could not resolve the gratuity cases. Later he also retired.
The State Government has been urged to resolve the long pending issue at the earliest, in the larger interest of poor labourers and employees here.