Port Blair, March 25: The Member of Parliament, Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma on Wednesday raised the issue of providing job security to the Casual workers and payment of 'Equal Pay for Equal Work' to all the Daily Rates Mazdoors engaged in various departments of Andaman and Nicobar Administration.

Addressing the Hon'ble Speaker in the Parliament the MP said that in Andaman & Nicobar Islands there were around 7000 workers engaged by various departments of A&N Administration on daily wage basis continuously for past several years. Since these workers were entrusted with regular nature of works, similar to that being done by regular employees, the A&N Administration in the year 2017 took a policy decision to pay daily wage equal to 1/30th of the pay at the minimum of the relevant pay scale plus dearness allowance for work of 8 hours a day to casual workers engaged on Daily Wage basis from September 2017.

The decision of Andaman & Nicobar Administration benefited around 4000 Casual workers who were paid minimum wage notified by the Administration but around 3000 Casual workers were left for want of vacant posts in the departments where they are working.

The Member of Parliament through the Hon'ble Speaker requested the Government and A&N Administration to make payment of wages to the leftover DRMs also at the rate of 1/30th of the pay at the minimum of the relevant pay scale plus dearness allowance for work of 8 hours a day irrespective of availability of vacancies by following the principle of 'Equal Pay for Equal Work', since these DRMs are continuously performing regular nature of work as done by the regular employees of the department.

Expressing concern over the security and reliability in continuous engagement of the Casual workers, Sharma suggested that the Government of India need to take  policy decision similar to that taken during the year 1993 to grant temporary status to all the DRMs.