MASKS ultimatum to BMC for salary reimbursement

Union threatens to go on strike from March 10 if workers won’t get their deducted pay

The Mahanagarpalika Arogya Sevak Karmachari Sanghatna (MASKS) has given an ultimatum to BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation of going on a strike from March 10, if their salaries are not credited to their accounts. Severe deductions were made and while many got no salaries, others got meagre hundred.

Prakash Devdas, the President of MASKS stated on Monday a meeting was held with Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC) Sudhir Naik and in the meeting they have demanded that by March 10,2018, all those employees whose salaries have been deducted their wages should be reimbursed to their accounts. Also, if the demands are not fulfilled than strike will be called and no employees will work. In return to the demands made DMC Naik has ensured that the salaries will be reimbursed to the employees account. Meanwhile, he also ensured that nurses who work in civic-run hospitals and usually have to work in night shifts their salaries will not be linked with the biometric system, until it is rectified bringing major relief to them. “However, the workers’ association will wait and watch until March 10 whether the administration is fulfilling the promises made and if not strike will be called,” said Devdas.

The faulty biometrics came to light after the workers got a shock when they got either no salary or paltry few hundreds on ThursdayHoli day. Thereafter, the workers' association also moved industrial court, Bandra and filed a writ petition against the faulty system. The hearing on the petition is scheduled on Tuesday. According to the claims made by the workers' association the newly installed biometric machines do not record attendance who work in night shifts.

Like for example if a night shift employee comes for thumb print in the evening, the machine shows out-time (going home) and in the morning when it's his leaving time it records in-time (working). Due to which around 70,000 civic employees salaries been deducted massively. Also, many employees attendance has been shown zero due to it.

Due to faulty biometric attendance machines, salaries of several BMC workers were deducted and some got meagre `100 as its machine showed zero attendance