WATER STRIKE

Strike call : No water day on 17 January

Drinking Water pump Operator Workers' Union called a strike on 17 January in Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri demanding immediate payment of their salary that is pending for five months. On that day they will not operate pumps and so the water supply in Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri will be disrupted. On behalf of the union's Northern Mechanical Division it was said that they have been forced to call the strike sa they are being unpaid of salaries for months.

 

 The CITU affiliated PHE Contractors Workers Union too may go on strike. The secretary of the district unit of the CITU and also an MP (Rajya Sabha) Tarini Roy said that they are not in favour of any strike that ends in suffering for drinking water to citizens. But, the workers have grievances as they received no salary for five months.

 

Mentionworthy, there are three stages related to supply of drinking water by the Public Health Engineering Department in Cooch Behar district. The water supply under Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad is maintained by the ZP using its own fund if the PHE fails to extend fund to it. The maintenance of the facility and salaries are borne by the CZP. The Cooch Behar Municipality too shoulders the responsibility of maintenance and salaries when the PHE department fails to extend fund to it. But, a large area of the district is controlled by the PHE itself and they conduct the job by engaging contractors. The workers of the contractors are not receiving salaries for the last five months as their employers are not receiving the fund from the PHE Department.

 

Cooch Behar MP Tarini Roy said that though they are not in favour of any strike in the drinking water sector but the situation is compelling them to strike. Without any payment the workers cannot work. "It the situation demands our workers may go for cease-work agitation", he said.  He demanded that the state government should come out to ease the situation by extending assurance of payment of salary regularly. "We will wait a few days to observe the government's stand on the matter", the MP said.