Workers to join hands to get back their jobs

PUDUCHERRY: Temporary workers, who had been retrenched in government departments, quasi-government organisations and societies under the current administration, would be joining hands together and organising an agitation, demanding re-employment.This was advised by former Chief Minister V Vaithilingam, when the retrenched employees met him at his residence this morning. “They should jointly fight for the restoration of their work,” Vaithilingam told Express. There are 3,000 workers who had been retrenched from PWD, PASIC, Rajiv Gandhi School of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and  Bharathiar Palkalai Koodam. However, the retrenched employees had been separately staging dharnas in front of their respective institutions so far.As per the Puducherry Casual Labourers (engagement and regularisation) Scheme, 2009, notified on February 27, 2009, no one could be regularised. Thus, it stands to reason that the services of the temporary workers cannot be regularised. However, they can be provided work under the same provision, but the question arises as to how long. “The government can restore their work and chalk out new provisions to retain them in service,” maintained Vaithilingam.“It all depends on the will of the Rangasamy government to retain them. Rules are not a deterrent as the government can reframe the rules in public interest,” he added.As the workers were engaged during the tenure of the Congress government under Vaithilingam, the Congress MLAs were planning to call on Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh in this regard.