Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 27 March 2023
CITU, Andaman and Nicobar State Committee has welcomed the decision of the Andaman & Nicobar Administration to grant Bonus to all the daily rated mazdoors working in the APWD, for the financial year 2021-22. CITU has called upon the Administration to extend the benefit of bonus to also the daily rated mazdoors working in all other departments under the A & N Administration without any further delay.
CITU has further demanded that the bonus has to be given to the DRMs from the financial year 2015-16, as the National Lok Adalat in its sitting at Port Blair on 9th April 2016 in the case filed by the CITU affiliated ASNVMS had directed the APWD to pay the bonus to the DRMs working in APWD. The Lok Adalat had passed the order on the basis of the commitment made by the APWD before the Lok Adalat that they have no objection to make payment of bonus to the eligible DRMs.
Though the Chief Engineer, APWD vide his letter dated 15th June, 2017 , with copy to ASNVMS, had directed all the Superintending Engineers and Executive Engineers of APWD to take necessary action in accordance with the OM dated 3rd October, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India, the same was not implemented.
When the APWD did not pay the bonus to the DRMs and backtracked from the commitment made before the National Lok Adalat and did not implement the order of the Lok Adalat dated 9th April, 2015, the ASNVMS filed a Writ Petition in the Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta and obtained a favourable order.
When the Administration did not act upon the orders of the Hon’ble High Court, the ASNVMS filed a Contempt Petition before the Court. While the said contempt petition was pending before the Hon’ble High Court, the Administration had decided to grant the Bonus only to those daily rated mazdoors who were benefitted with the 1/30th of pay plus DA.
ASNVMS and CITU protested against this decision of the Administration and demanded to pay the bonus to all the daily rated mazdoors.
CITU and Unions affiliated to it have been conducting agitations with these demands for the last several years. CITU has reiterated its demand to extend the Bonus to all the daily rated mazdoors working under the Administration with effect from the financial year 2015-16.