AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Tuesday decried the agreement signed between the management of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and the Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) affiliated to the ruling DMK, saying that the “equal work-equal pay” demand of the 13,000 contract workers had been given a burial by the agreement.
In a statement here, she said there was nothing new in the agreement as the management had agreed in 2008 itself to grant nine days' leave with salary and induct 5000 workers in Industrial Cooperative Service Society (Incoserve).
“The workers are disappointed and even those who are members of the LPF have rejected it,” she claimed.
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Accusing the NLC management of not adhering to the agreement signed with the representatives of workers and ignoring the directions of the Madras High Court, Ms Jayalalithaa said even Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was not interested in resolving the crisis.
“He should have raised the issue when he met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi a few days ago. While celebrating his alliance with the Congress, he has forgotten the plight of NLC contract workers,” she said.