SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 27: The Union Ministry of Fertilizer and Chemical has directed Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL) to fulfil the demands of Fertilizer Corporation of India’s (FCI) ex-employees.
Under Secretary of the department, Robin Gangte has shot off a letter to the Managing Director (MD) HURL, New Delhi, to take appropriate action in fulfilling the various pending demands of the ex-employees of FCI Sindri in August 2023.
Thousands of public sector unit FCI employees were given voluntary retirement when the FCI Sindri unit was shut down in December 2002.
Their frontal body, All India Fertilizer Corporation of India VSS Employees Association, had on August 26, 2023, sent a nine-point charter of demands to the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Fertilizer and Chemical to draw his attention to the problems being faced by the former VSS employees.
All India Fertilizer Corporation of India VSS Employees Association president Sardar Sewa Singh said after the directive of the ministry to the HURL management, now the perennial problems of thousands of ex-employees would be solved.
The main demands of the all India association are allotment of FCI Sindri quarters to the ex-employees or their dependent living in Sindri township under the residential policy of the department, the dependent of ex-employees should be given a job on a priority basis whose service was due five to 10 years at the time of the closure of the FCI plant.
The association had also demanded an increase in pension for ex-employees. Under EPF, 95 ex-employees are being given reduced pension and it has not been revised for the last 20 years.
Sewa Singh said the All India Fertilizer Corporation of India VSS Employees Association had also demanded the provision of basic amenities to residents of Sindri Colony under Community Social Responsibility and the provision of a worship place in a proper space on a token money.
