Limestone Co PF anomaly

SHILLONG, AUG 27: Agitated employees of Komorra Limestone Company Ltd (KLCL) served a week’s deadline to the management to clear the pending Rs 1.88 crore-Provident Funds (PF), arrears and other benefits on Thursday.

A delegation of the employees under the banner of the Komorra Employees & Limestone Quarry’s Workers Union (KELQWU) along with Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC)-Riwar Shella Circle met the KLCL Managing Director J Marboh to seek immediate redressal to the alleged irregularities in the company.

“There have been a lot of irregularities in the functioning of the company’s management which has irked the employees. Therefore, we have demanded them to immediately give a written assurance on the steps taken to rectify these anomalies within a week’s time,” HYC-RSC president Roy Kupar Synrem told reporters.

Alleging that the company had violated the Provident Fund Act, Synrem said as per RTI findings, it has revealed that the company has failed to deposit provident funds of the employees which have accumulated to Rs 1.88 crore to the provident fund’s office since 1973 to 2014.

“The Managing Director has assured that the funds would be immediately transferred to the provident fund office at the earliest,” Synrem said.

He also informed that MD had cited financial constrain as the reason for not releasing of travel allowances to the employees, which was pending for the past 2 years.

“But on the contrary, the settlement signed before the Ministry of Labour and Employment Regional Labour in Guwahati on January last year, it had directed that 8.33 % bonus apart from salary or wages should be paid to the employees whether the company is running a loss or profit,” Synrem said.

According to him, as per the term of settlement, it had directed the KLCL to implement the provision within a period of nine months, which it had failed to do so far.

Established way back in 1973, the KLCL, is a joint venture between the Meghalaya Industries Development Corporation (MIDC) and a Kolkata-based DCPL company.

Operated from a remote village Majai under Sohbar Elaka in East Khasi Hills District, the KLCL is producing around 1.40 lakh metric tons of limestone annually, the same of which is being exported to neigbouring Bangladesh.

Further, the employees of the company have also opposed the unreasonable deduction by the company’s accountant officer from the house rent allowance (HRA) of staffs and departmental workers.

The HRA given to the staffs is Rs 1350 and Rs 1050 to the departmental workers. However, Rs 50 has been deducted by the accountant every month from the HRA, he said.

While the MD feigns ignorant on the anomalies but assured that necessary inquiry will be conducted and action be taken accordingly,  Synrem said that the delegation had also made it clear that they would lodged an FIR against the person involved behind the anomaly.- By Our Reporter

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