The Rourkela Ispat Karakhana Karmachari Sangh (RIKKS) on Sunday blamed National Joint Committee for Steel (NJCS) for steel workers’ wage agreement not getting materialised for last two years.
The RIKKS, an affiliated body of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), in its working committee meeting, held that the workers of Steel Authority of India limited have suffered a lot as the NJCS, the umbrella unit of unions at SAIl’s different plants, has failed to reach a wage agreement with the Company authorities at its two-day meeting held on November 18 and 20.
The RIKKS leaders expressed unhappiness that the information given to the workers by four trade unions INTUC, AITUC, CITU and HMS regarding the outcome of the NJCS meeting is not matching at all. These unions are authorised to sit in the NJCS meeting. While the representatives of INTUC and AITUC informed that the company management had proposals for 17 per cent minimum guarantee benefit (MGB) and 7 per cent fringe benefit for the workers, the CITU and HMl leaders said the proposals were 16 per cent and six percent respectively.
“The working class is still in confusion as to who is saying the truth,” the BMS leaders pointed out. They alleged that the four unions made a game plan not to materialize the wage agreement.
Stating that lakhs of rupees were spent for the 247th and 272nd NJCS full body meetings, the leaders also alleged that the management and the unions have had a nexus not to ventilate the facts to the
workers. While the officers of same unit have been getting 30 per cent MGB and 47 per cent fringe benefit, the workers should get benefits in the same ratio, they demanded.
Even though, the four unions have called upon the steel workers to wear black badges in protect against NJCS failure, the BMS have urged the NJCS member unions to be very practical and not to blackmail the innocent workers. The unions should go for a full-fledged agitation in stead of simple asking the workers to wear black badges, the BMC leaders suggested. Among others, Uttam Kumar Das Mazumdar, Dilip Pattanaik and RN Mohanty addressed the committee meeting.