Nagpur News.
Two leaders of Bharatiya Janata Kamgar Mahasangh which is spearheading the ongoing agitation at Ankit Pulps and Boards Pvt Ltd have come out with damning allegations against the management of the company. The leaders Virender Pratap Sharma and Ramkrishna Sevatkar said that the company, situated in Bhilgaon on Kamptee Road, Nagpur, had initially deployed a workforce of 300 employees. Production in the company goes on round the clock (24 hours) and workers are forced to work in 12-hour shift which is against the spirit of labour laws. The workers should work in three shifts of 8-hour each, the Mahasangh leaders said.
Moreover, the company deducts ESIC shares and installments of Group Insurance from workers’ salaries but provides no benefits to them entitled in both the schemes. The company runs two plants for production of various products. In one plant, the company manufactures capsule powder that is used in different medicines and the other plant produces electric welding rod powder. But there are absolutely no safety and security measures in place for protection of the workers. As a result many accidents took place and the workers suffered the maximum brunt, claimed Sharma and Sevatkar.
According to the two leaders, following are some of the accidents that occurred in the company and names of the victims.
1) Hand (fingers) of 50-year old Ramdas Bajirao Raut got crushed while working at a machine. But there were no medical facilities which resulted in severance of fingers. Raut was not paid any compensation for the loss. Moreover, shockingly his salary was reduced and fixed at Rs 4,000 in place of Rs 6000 he was receiving before the accident.
2) Hand of 25-year old Vicky Surendra Dhamgaye was rendered useless forever when it got trapped in belt of a machine. No compensation was paid to Vicky by the management. Forget compensation, he was sacked after the accident.
3) A finger of 32-year old Santosh Madke got cut in an accident but no compensation was paid by the company.
4) Leg of 22-year old Sandeep Bhaskar got burnt by acid forcing him to sit in home for two months but no compensation was paid by the company.
5) Both legs of 38-year old Kailash Purshottam Kamble got burnt by acid. He too was forced to sit in home for three months but no compensation was paid by the company.
6) 34-year old Dheeraj Vithhal Lanjewar too lost hand. He stayed in home for 75 days without any compensation.
The company neither has contractorship or certified license nor pays salaries on time. The only regular practice the company follows is sacking of employees without any notice, alleged the two leaders of Bharatiya Janata Kamgar Mahasangh.
