Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, July 26: Modi Government is in favour of a fair deal to every section of employees and a series of reforms, initiated in the last two years, are also aimed in that direction.
This was stated here today by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh while speaking to a delegation of Northeast Customs Employees led by Member of Parliament, George Baker who held a meeting with him and sought his intervention for redressal of their grievances including the continued engagement of many of them as casual workers.
George Baker brought to the notice of Dr Jitendra Singh that even though the delegation mostly comprised Customs employees from North-Eastern States and West Bengal, the matter of fact is that the same grievance is being shared by Customs employees across the country including Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Cochin in Kerala, Vadodara in Gujarat, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Hyderabad in Telangana and Bengaluru in Karnataka. He also informed the Minister that the total number of casual employees engaged by the Customs Department stands at around 1919, who have been working on the same emoluments for as long as the last 10 to 20 years.
In a memorandum submitted on behalf of the delegation, George Baker appealed for formulating a policy to redeem the plight of these employees in consultation with the Union Ministry of Finance. According to him, there were also court judgments including Uma Devi judgment from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India which were in support of the cause of these workers. The Madras High Court had also supported their case, he claimed, and had suggested a one-time settlement.
Baker also complained that successive Governments in the past had neglected their demand.
Dr Jitendra Singh gave a patient hearing to all the members of the delegation and spent about half-an-hour in receiving their inputs. He said, the issue did not directly pertain to the departments dealt by him. However, he promised to take up their cause with the Union Ministry of Finance and find out what was the view on this issue in the Department of Customs and Central Excise.
Dr Jitendra Singh also appreciated George Baker for his tireless crusade in support of the neglected and needy sections of society, particularly in the eastern parts of India.
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