PARADIP: Workers retrenched by a contract agency engaged by Arcelor Mittal Nissan Steel (AMNS) India have been staging a dharna in front of the company’s plant for the last two days here demanding their jobs back.
Jagabandhu Barik, one of the workers laid off by Maa Engineering Limited said he and others were working for the agency for the last five years. “We worked sincerely but the agency retrenched us and did not issue gate passes to enter the plant,” he said.
Another worker, Kalandi Charan Senapati said the owner of Maa Engineering Limited has issued threats to retrench other workers as directed by the authorities of AMNS India. He alleged the amount deducted from the workers’ salaries towards PF and ESI have not been deposited in their accounts. The agency has also not cleared the dues of the workers, neither has it paid them any bonus despite repeated appeals, the agitators alleged.
Earlier, the workers had urged the officials of the contracting agency and AMNS India to not retrench them. However, their appeals went unheeded. People who had given their land to the company for setting up its 12 million tonne pellet plant in Paradip alleged instead of being given permanent jobs, the firm employed them on a contractual basis and is now laying them off.
They alleged AMNS India has not identified land yet for settling the land losers as per the R&R policy. This apart, the company has not undertaken any development work in the peripheral areas. A senior AMNS India official said the workers did not agree to the company’s proposal for a discussion on the issues.