Food Corporation of India contract staff hold protest

Phagwara, October 11

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) Labour Union, Phagwara, today held a demonstration in front of the FCI office here today. The union is upset at the plight of contract based employees at the corporation.

Kapurthala union president Bhushan Kumar Yadav said, “There are four types of workers at the FCI. The first class workers are paid just like a government employee, the second class workers get the guaranteed minimum wage, the third class works on the ‘No Work, No Payment’ module and the fourth class is employed on contracts.”

He added that the contractors are exploiting the fourth class workers by shifting them from one depot to another depot in the name of pooling and shifting since 2016. The contract agreements, however, were based at the earlier depot, which is unacceptable.

A union leader said they had gheraoed the Kapurthala office on September 9 and the Chandigarh regional office on September 21, but the officials at the corporation did nothing but offered fake assurances.

He said the union would hold an agitation at the New Delhi headquarters on November 15. He also warned that if their demands were not met, the agitation might turn violent.