Off-Roll Employees boycott work at Dikchu HEP

WANGCHUK BHUTIA
DIKCHU, 17 Oct:  The off-roll employees at Sneha Kinetic Power Project Ltd., a Hyderabad-based company developing the 96 MW Dikchu Hydroelectric Project, have boycott work following the company’s failure to fulfil their three pending demands.
The off-roll employees at this project are mostly affected land owners/ oustees appointed supervisors, drivers, helpers, peons, store-boys and cooks. Technically, “Off-Roll” employees are those who are appointed under other companies or through labour contractors but working for the main company, in this case, SKPP. This issue has also caused much confusion among the employees and could be at the root of the present confrontation.
The three pending demands which have resulted in the boycott are the still-awaited issuance of appointment letters [by SKPP], salary increment and insurance cover for the employees.
The protesting off-roll employees are most upset over the non issue of appointment letters, pointing out that employees with the project developer brought in from outside Sikkim have been issued appointment letters. As mentioned earlier, most of the off-roll employees are affected local land owners.
The SKPPL office at the dam site at Lingdok and power house site at Dikchu where closed and work abandoned as none of the local employees reported for work today. Even the office here was locked.
This is not the first time that the local employees at the project have protested. They had gone on strike from 09 to 13 September 2011 at the dam site.
A meeting held among the local employees, project committee and the project developer at that time in Lingdok had seen SKPPL agree to issue identity cards to all its employees, provide medical cover in case of any employee being injured while on duty and issue appointment letters. These were to be done latest by 14 October.
Prem Sharma, one of the local employees who is also a land-oustee of the said project, while speaking to NOW! informed that he was appointed as a supervisor back in the year 2004 when the company began its survey works. He contends that he was assured proper service facility and handsome salary, but nothing has materialised.
He further informed that the off-roll employees are confused about the status of their service or even the identity of their company as the identity cards issued to them show them as employed with a range of companies like Haridwar Construction Pvt. Ltd, Greenco Company and SKPPL. He, as others like him, is confused because they always believed that they were employed with SKPPL and had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SKPPL. What the other companies are or what its relation is with the SKPPL, none appears to be aware of. 
He also informed that they are paid much lower wages than workers engaged with the Drillcon Company, a sub-contractor of SKPPL.
It is also now being alleged that the company has not undertaken any community service in the affected areas despite its requirement to do so as enumerated in the MOU.
The employees have also rejected the appointment letters issued by the company today, arguing that it was drafted only to benefit the company and contains nothing about the welfare of the employees.
A meeting was held in this evening at the Power House office today at Dikchu between the project developer represented by the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, the Deputy Labour Commissioner (North) and the off-roll employers.
The meeting could not resolve the problem and the off-roll employees walked off. They have decided to continue their strike until their demands are granted.