KOCHI: Several trade union workers are in the forefront to help government machinery fight Covid pandemic. In Aluva, several head load workers were active till early morning on Saturday to load oxygen cylinders at a government hospital without seeking any remuneration.
The incident occurred on Friday evening when a truck with hundreds of oxygen cylinders arrived at the Aluva government hospital. Only the truck driver and motor vehicles department officials who were escorting the truck were at the site. “With no persons to unload oxygen cylinders, we contacted assistant labour officer Rakhi E G. Soon the officer contacted trade union members in Aluva and within minutes a dozen head load workers arrived at the site,” an MVD official said.
Rakhi said that head load workers worked till early morning to unload empty cylinders and load filled cylinders without charging any fee. “They didn’t take any money for the effort they put in and wanted to consider it as service on their part. They loaded and unloaded three or four trucks with oxygen till Saturday morning. After that the same workers returned and helped in unloading and loading cylinders in a truck that came on Saturday afternoon. Their service was really helpful at the time of crisis,” she said.
A press release from information and public relations department stated that the labour department is ensuring availability of workers at oxygen plants and hospitals throughout the day. Apart from that, head load workers are active at oxygen plants enabling smooth movement of cylinders.