Piling work for the metro rail station at Edappally, which had been at a standstill from April 15 following a labour dispute, is set to resume on Sunday with the Kochi Metro Rail Limited and the labour unions reaching a temporary settlement.
Official sources said a decision with regard to resuming the work was taken during a meeting between representatives of the labour unions and the Delhi Metro Rail Authority at the Assistant Labour Commissioner’s office on Friday. “The meeting has been adjourned to May 7 while a decision to resume the works in the meantime has been taken’’, they said. They attributed the disruption of works to a demand from the labour unions to raise the equation of local labourers per rigs to six from three in each shift. “Neither the contractor agency nor the DMRC are in a position to change the labour component already agreed upon, which may affect the overall work speed while adding to the cost factor’’, they said.
The incident marks the third major disruption to the metro rail project in the Aluva-Palarivattom stretch over the past two weeks. As a result, contractors are citing their helplessness in completing piling and pillar works on time, sources said. Confirming the issue, the trade unions, meanwhile, said the reluctance of the KMRL in striking an employment contract with the unions was the core issue. “The existing contract between the labourers and the agency expired in March and a new contract is now required to ensure improved working conditions and better pay of our members’’, said K.V. Manoj, district vice-president of the CITU affiliated Kettida Nirmana Thozhilali Union.
