PANAJI
A prominent labour rights leader has demanded that the Public Works Department (PWD) stop the practice of recruiting workers on a daily-wage basis.
The PWD Workers’ Supply Society had recently advertised 450 posts, all to be filled on daily wages, and labour leader Ajay Prabhugaokar slammed the move, calling it “an insult to Goan youth.”
A labour law practitioner, Prabhugaokar demanded that the government either make the posts regular and permanent or scrap the recruitment altogether. On Friday, he submitted a memorandum to department officials, accompanied by union office-bearers.
Prabhugaokar pointed out that the society already employs nearly 2,500 temporary staff. Many are close to retirement, yet continue to work without regularisation.
“Some are doing the same work as the regular PWD employees ” data entry operators, billing clerks ” but are paid less. We have been agitating for years to make them permanent and to give equal pay,” he said.
He added that talks with the government are ongoing and that despite being aware of these anomalies, the government has gone ahead with advertising more daily-wage recruitment, which is "despicable".
He warned that contractual hiring offers no real benefit to Goan youth and pointed out that while ministers are making claims of 22,000 government positions being vacant, many are being filled on a daily-wage basis.
Prabhugaokar also accused the government of dangling jobs before elections, warning that daily-wage work will make the youth vulnerable, and urged them not to fall prey.
