Tourism staff rally for service regularisation

Vijayawada: The employees of the tourism department took out a protest rally in the city on Monday asking the government to regularise their services and enhance their wages. The employees, who have been on relay hunger strike, took out a procession from Raghavaiah Park to the city Police Commissionerate raising slogans against the government for not regularising their services. They alleged that the State government was cheating the employees in the name of contract system and other means. They said that the tourism department had engaged workers on daily wage basis and was paying low wages without implementing the Minimum Wages Act. The Andhra Pradesh Contract and Outsourcing Employees Federation secretary, T Prabhudas, while addressing the employees alleged that the government was denying minimum wages to hundreds of workers. He wondered how the government, which is to enforce the law of the land, goes against its own laws doing injustice to the people. He said that the State government had given in writing on October 16, 2012 that it would solve the problems of the workers by January 1, 2013 but had failed to fulfil its promise. He said that the government officials who have signed the agreement with the employees were now silent on the issue even after three months after the deadline forcing them to go on indefinite strike. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Contract, Manpower, Daily wage Employees and Workers Union city secretary, P Nagu, said that the State government was celebrating the success of tourism by winning six tourism awards at the national level. He said that the government was able to win these awards only because of the hand work of the contract, daily wage and manpower workers who have been with the department for several years. While celebrating the success of the awards, the State government was neglecting the employees, he said. The CITU city secretary, MV Sudhakar, who is spearheading the movement for over three weeks, came down heavily on the State government for turning a blind eye to the problems of the tourism employees. He blamed the government for trying to weaken the movement through different forms including removal of the hunger strike camp at Bhavanipuram. He said that the employees were firm on continuing the agitation and asserted that they would further intensify the agitation to get their demands accepted and subsequently implemented by the government. He said that the employees were forced to go on indefinite strike as the government failed to accept their demands and fulfil its promise of implementing the October 16, 2012 agreement.