Bhubaneswar: Union Minister for Education; Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday urged his cabinet colleagues, Pralhad Joshi and Bhupender Yadav, to ensure payment of better wages and benefits to contract labourers working at coal mines of NALCO and NTPC in Odisha’s Angul district.
In a letter to Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affaires and Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Labour & Employment, Pradhan stated that the labourers should get the wages as per the recommendations of the Central Advisory Contract Law Board (CACLB).
“Engagement of contract labourers in coal mines has been prohibited under Section 10 of the Contract Labour (regulation and Abolition) Act 1970. However, the Section 31 of the Act provides for exemption in special cases subject to prescribed conditions and restrictions,” cited Pradhan in the letter.
Industries engaged in coal mining in Angul district have been taking exemptions under such provisions to employ contract labour, Pradhan said.
The Union Minister further pointed out that National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has waived off the applicability of the Section-10 for the coal mining blocks of NTPC for a period of 5 years while National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) has also applied for exemption through the Ministry of Mines.
“Some contractors are denying payment of high powered committee recommended wages and benefits to their workers engaged in coal mines of NALCO. This is a matter of grave concern as it goes against the spirit of labour welfare espoused by the Government of India,” Pradhan apprised the Union Ministers.
In the letter to Joshi and Yadav, Pradhan has sought personal intervention of the Union Ministers in notifying the exemption and it’s strong enforcement by the management of NALCO by ensuring the payment of CACLB recommended wages and benefits to contract labourers engaged in their coal mines by the contractor.MDO, as per applicable provisions of law.
