OVER A dozen daily wage workers of the PWD have alleged that their lawyer, timekeeper and the Bhopal tehsildar connived to block payment of their back wages and gratuity awarded to them by the Labour court.
According to the workers, the three-some have been demanding about Rs 50,000 from each of them (the workers) to get their payment cheques released from the tehsildar office. They also alleged that other 63 workers have already paid the demanded bribe to get their respective cheques.
The workers have taken up the matter with the district collector and are now threatening to commit suicide if their problem were not resolved. The workers have also urged the Mahila Utpiran Virodhi Morcha to take up their issue with higher authorities.
In a press conference, the labourers and convener of the Manch Vijaya Pathak narrated their ordeal. The workers mentioned that 79 of them, who had been removed from service about four years ago, won the case in Labour Court and received Rs 88 lakhs as back wages and gratuity.
The cheques were issued in individual names but Tehsildar Pare, counsel Komal Singh and timekeeper Vijay Singh Negi asked the workers to deposit Rs 50,000 each (about half of what each of them received) telling them that this amount is to be deposited back with the government. When these 15 workers failed to give this amount, their payment was stopped and the counsel even got a stay from the High Court on their payment.
{{/usCountry}}The cheques were issued in individual names but Tehsildar Pare, counsel Komal Singh and timekeeper Vijay Singh Negi asked the workers to deposit Rs 50,000 each (about half of what each of them received) telling them that this amount is to be deposited back with the government. When these 15 workers failed to give this amount, their payment was stopped and the counsel even got a stay from the High Court on their payment.
{{/usCountry}}They took the matter to the district collector on whose intervention an FIR has been registered against these three persons.