ILTD workers to go on strike
Chirala: The workers in the ITC LTD at Chirala and Anaparti served strike notice to the management demanding the revision of the salaries. The ILTD, which has over 110 years of history in tobacco crushing, processing and exporting fields, has a tradition of offering wage enhancement to the workers for every four years.
For the enhancement, the registered union presents their demands to the management and the management also brings some demands from its side and they mutually agree to a set of conditions and work as per the settlement.
The last settlement agreed on September 10, 2014 is expired on July 31, 2018. The union has submitted their charter of demands on May 17, 2018 and the management has submitted their proposals on July 27, 2018 and since then the bilateral meetings were held multiple times.
The last meeting was said to be held on April 30, 2019 but the issue is still exist to continue. The workers, who are around 210 in number in Chirala and Anaparti are demanding the management to provide enough salary to lead a normal life for a middle class family consisting of spouse and two children for food, shelter, clothing, education and healthcare needs.
They are demanding the management to give a hike of Rs 22120 after the four year term, to their salaries between Rs 15000 to 32000 per month. However the management is said to be proposing a hike of Rs 6750 only.
So, the workers served a notice on the management to go on strike any time after May 18. The workers are participating in various modes of protest before and after going to the work in front of the office and the main gate by wearing black badges.
The union general secretary GV Satyanarayana, Chirala branch secretary Boyina Raghava, Shaik Kabeer, Yakob, Satyasobhan, Ayub Khan, Varadarajulu, Uday Kumar, Vasubabu and other workers also participated in Tuesday's protest. They have cleaned the roads in and around the ILTD and announced that they have no option to go for a strike if the management do not take the positive decision.