KCB to carry on work with contract labour force

The cantonment board took the decision this week to renew the contract to employ the labourers for its hospital sanitation and other works until it receives the sanction from the Defence Ministry to employ the posts of sanitation staff on permanent basis.

“We have a shortage of nearly 80 labourers in the cantonment area. But we have issued two seperate contracts for employing the labourers on contract basis for carrying out the sanitation works,” said KCB Vice President,Manish Anand. He said that there was a need to employ the staff on permenant basis,but in view of the restrictions from the Central government they can’t employ the staff on the permenant basis.

“ We have already taken it up with the defence ministry officials that they should sanction the staff for permenant employment in the cantonment board. When we receive the sanction,we will employ the staff from among the local youth,” Anand added.

Cantonment board Vice President said that it was both for the cantonment hospital as well as for other cleanliness works that it has decided to engage the staff on contract basis only.

Officials say that besides escaping from the responsibility of issuing any permanent government orders to the employees engaged on contract,the KCB was also hiring the sanitation staff on a lesser monthly wages. Each labourer on contract is being paid upto Rs 6,600 which includes besides the pay also the insurance cover,while as for the permanent staff the basic salary starts from Rs 7,500 and also the staff needs to be provided with other amenities like the quarters. “ That way the employment of the sanitation staff on contract basis was turning out to be less expensive for us,” said a cantonment official. He however added that the hiring on contract was being done,while keeping in view the minimum wages act. ” The minimum wages monthly turn out to be Rs 5,400 while as the wages on contract are minimally higher,” said a cantonment board official.

However despite the cantonment board deciding to hire the staff on contract from outside,the residents of the cantonment area say that the sanitation works were poorly maintained by the cantonment board. ”We asked the cantonment board to provide two buckets to each household for the collection of refuse from the houses. That would have helped us segregate the dry and wet waste. But that has not been done so far which reflects the poor policy of the cantonment board with regard to providing the sanitation works,” said,Pandu Rang Garsund,Secretary of Khadki Citizen’s Forum.