MRPL contract employees’ association warns of agitation

The MRPL MSEZ Contract Employees’ and Victims’ Association on Tuesday threatened to launch an agitation if measures for the safety and security of contract employees are not taken within a week.

Talking to reporters, association member and honorary president of MRPL Majdoor Sangh Satyajit Surathkal said the fire at the Coker Hydrotreater plant of MRPL on September 30, in which contract employee Manoj Karkada died and 12 others suffered burns, was a major incident. The incident reflected poorly on the safety measures of employees.

The government should work along side the firm and the district administration to take measures to prevent re-occurrence of the incident. The safety and other concerns of contract employees should be addressed. “If steps are not taken in a week’s time, then the association will be forced to launch MRPL Chalo and other agitations,” Mr. Surathkal said.

He said on the day of incident, there was delay in activation of emergency siren and contract employees were unaware of fire incident. Even when employees who had assembled at the assembly point alerted that Manoj Karkada was missing, MRPL officials failed to take steps to quickly search for him. Among the 12 injured personnel, one employee continues to be in critical condition and is undergoing treatment.

Contract employees, unlike the permanent MRPL employees, do not have proper healthcare facilities. The MRPL should provide health insurance policy of ₹10 lakh to each contract employee. The workman compensation for contract employee should be increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh. The healthcare centre in the MRPL should be equipped to provide immediate treatment to employees. The contract employees were facing problems because of absence of restrooms, he said.

He alleged that contract employees are denied entry into canteens and washrooms meant for permanent employees. The contract workers working namely as drivers and in canteens are not being paid extra wages for working more than eight hours. Mr. Surathkal said for a long time, MRPL has failed to call meeting with representatives of contract workers and address their concerns.