Thane hospital disburses Rs 58 lakh wage arrears to 68 sanitation workers

Thane mental hospital workers receive Rs 58 lakh in long-pending wage arrears (Representational image)

The administration of the mental hospital in Maharashtra's Thane has disbursed Rs 58 lakh in long-pending pay arrears of 68 contractual sanitation workers. This move from the administration comes after a Bombay High Court directive, officials said on Friday.

The Shramik Janta Sangh Union, while issuing an official statement, said that workers had staged protests and a 28-day chain hunger strike after their employer, Lokrajya Swayamrojgar Seva Sahakari Sanstha, failed to comply with the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, as per PTI.

It also mentioned that the workers received the amount in their bank accounts earlier this week.

Contractor was directed to pay Rs 58 lakh within 45 days

According to the union, the assistant labour commissioner had in December last year ordered the contractor to pay Rs 58 lakh within 45 days, directing the hospital administration, as the principal employer, to assume liability within 60 days if the contractor defaulted, as per PTI.

The contractor filed an appeal with the Bombay High Court, challenging the Assistant Labour Commissioner's judgement. Senior Advocates Gayatri Singh and Sudha Bharadwaj presented the workers' case. However, in April, the court mandated that the labour court rulings be implemented within four weeks.

The union's vice-president, Sanjay Mangala Gopal, said that the disbursement of wages has brought relief and the union remains committed to ending the contract system for permanent roles and securing fair wages across the board.

BEST employees to get wage revision

In a separate scenario, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) earlier on Tuesday recommended key proposals concerning wage revision, notional pay fixation for casual workers, and equal pay for wet-lease employees be referred to a study committee constituted by the Maharashtra government.

As per the official statement from BEST, the study committee, chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary (UD-1) of the Urban Development Department, was constituted by the Maharashtra government under the guidance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to examine and resolve various pending demands of BEST workers.

Following directions from the committee and meetings between the BEST administration and labour unions, a comprehensive proposal was submitted to the BMC for recommendation to the government-appointed committee. The proposal was taken up during the BMC meeting held on Tuesday.

(With inputs from PTI)