Goa’s 106 km coastline, it is feared, could become unsafe on the weekend (72 hours from Friday) following a strike by lifeguards belonging to Drishti Lifeguard Services (DLS), contractors of State Tourism, under the banner of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Goa, over pay and service related demands.
A spokesperson of the DLS said on Friday that under an order of the High court, the Goa government will be taking immediate action against striking lifeguards under the Goa Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA).
He said the Union leaders refused to show up in court to defend their strike.
“It is extremely sad to see that the lifeguards are being misled to commit a crime, while the union leaders themselves keep their hands clean,” remarked the spokesman.
He also claimed that the strike has failed to garner support amongst the lifeguards, with a significant number of the operational strength reporting for duty.
Operations uninterruptedWith the strong support of the State government, Goa Police and tourism industry stakeholders, operations were uninterrupted, said a Drishti release on Friday evening.
Mr. Chritstopher Fonseca, General Secretary, AITUC, Goa, reiterated that in spite of concrete written agreement signed by two Goa Cabinet Ministers, the pending issues of the lifeguards had remained unresolved.
Consequently, the lifeguards held a protest strike for 16 days from December 19 last year to January 13.
It was suspended after the Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar gave assurance to the life-guards that their demands would be met.
