Workers stir: Essar boycotts talks

PARADIP: Essar officials skipped a meeting scheduled with the district administration here on Wednesday, triggering tension at the plant site. Hundreds of contractual labourers under the banner of Essar Steel Displaced and Land Loser Sangh had staged a demonstration before the Essar plant site here last week demanding wage hike and transparency in gratuity and provident fund records of the employees.The labourers are paid less than the stipulated rate while the living conditions are pathetic, the protestors alleged, adding that there was no insurance cover and drinking water for the labourers. On-site safety is another issue as irate protestors complained about lack of shoes, helmets and other precautionary gear at the site. Accusing the company of cutting down wages by 40 per cent, the protestors had also complained about non-payment of rehabilitation packages to families displaced by the project. The deadlock was broken after Kujang tehsildar Basudev Pradhan intervened and promised to initiate discussions with Essar officials. A meeting was subsequently scheduled. The district administration led by Paradip ADM Saroj Kant Chaudhry conducted a meeting for ending the stalemate on Wednesday. Though administration officials, Sangh activists and land losers participated, Essar officials were conspicuous by their absence. In a letter to the administration, Essar officials declined to hold talks with the Sangh activists as it is not a registered organisation, said Chaudhry.