The Central Advisory Contract Labour Board (CACLB), an advisory body under the Labour Ministry, has recommended abolition of contractual workforce system for ticketing work in Delhi Metro and favoured regular employment.
The recommendation comes on the report of a three-member committee formed by it to study the working of contract labour system in the work of Ticket Office Machine (TOM) operators or ticket operators in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The committee members unanimously suggested abolition of deployment of contractual workmen for ticket vending services as the work performed by TOM operators is perennial in nature and necessary to establishment, said its report.
As a large number of contractual workers have already been engaged in the last 13 years, the committee members are of considered opinion that the establishment of DMRC requires a sufficient number of regular employees for its business, it said in the report submitted to the government in February this year.
The further course of action on the report was discussed by CACLB in its meeting held on March 30, 31 this year in Kolkata.
The Board perused the recommendation submitted by the committee constituted for the purpose and unanimously accepted its recommendations and decided to recommend abolition of the contract labour system in the jobs of TOM operators in DMRC, as per the minutes of the meeting.
"It has been two months since the Board has made its recommendation. But the Labour Ministry is yet to issue a notification in this regard. Even I got the report of the committee after filing RTI application," said Rajni Saxena, who has been fighting for regular employment of TOM operators working on contract.
She had worked as TOM operator between 2009 and January 2012 before her contract was allegedly terminated by DMRC.
As per rules, the government can, after consultation with the central advisory board, prohibit by notification in the Official Gazette, employment of contract labour in any process, operation or other works in any establishment.
(REOPENS DES25)
Saxena has been meeting lawmakers and authorities
concerned in the national capital for the past two months to ensure early issuance of the notification.
There are at least 2,878 contractual workers deployed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for ticket vending services, as per the information provided to the committee.
"The outsourcing of ticket vending system by deployment of TOM or Customer Care Centre operators through the contractors on the basis of agreement for four hours shift is also compelling the contractors to engage a very large number of workmen on their roll that in turn create scope for possible exploitation of workmen by denying them the wages and other welfare facilities available to regular or full time workmen," the committee has said in its report.
The outsourced employees deployed on TOM or CCC complained during the visit of the committee that they were not paid wages for weekly off days and Provident Fund statement and facilities under Employees' State Insurance (ESI) scheme, it said.
