JAIPUR: Former minister and trade union leader Prafulla Chandra Ghadei has claimed that thousands of contract labourers engaged in Tata Steel at Kalinga Nagar are in a state of distress. They are being denied minimum wages as prescribed by the Government and other basic amenities, he said.The labourers are not only subjected to work beyond the prescribed hours, but are also made to work in unsafe condition, Ghadei alleged and said, "When Tata had come to the district for setting up its steel mill at Kalinga Nagar, it had promised the moon. However, though several years have passed and the private steel major has commissioned the plant and started commercial production, it has provided nothing either to its workers or to the local people."
The condition of contract labourers, who constitute a major chunk of the workforce of the plant, is deplorable, he said. "Around 20,000 contract labourers are working in key wings of the steel plant. However, they are being denied their rights, wages and security besides other amenities," Ghadei said.
The former minister further said that people who lost their land for the steel plant are the worst affected. "Many oustees are yet to be given jobs even two years after the plant became operational," he said and informed that only 338 of 1,114 displaced families have got employment in the plant.
Condemning the plant management for ignoring local youths in the employment process, Ghadei said currently, 90 per cent of the workforce in Tata Steel consists of people from Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand. "Local youths have migrated to other States in search of employment after being ignored by the plant authorities here," he said and warned Tata Steel authorities on acting against local interests.
Contacted, Jajpur District Labour Officer Shiv Prasad Mishra said, "I am yet to receive any formal allegation in this regard. Necessary action will be taken if any such complaint is filed," he added.