CWA’s “Reservoir and Pump Station Attendants” Are on Overflow

Over the years, Reservoirs and pumping stations The workers of the Central Water Authority (CWA) are fighting for justice over working conditions and wages. They have been appointed to permanent positions since March 30, 2017 and have held several meetings, especially at the Ministry of Labour, to address the numerous anomalies that concern them. But to date, no concrete solution has been found. They also regret that despite their commitment to Shift systemthey still have not received the Sunday allowance promised to civil servants.

The employees complained that the workload was too large and that some of the tasks were not appropriate for their level. They called for a review Responsibilities to better match their skills and responsibilities. “While the PRB report acknowledges our position, we are seen as the guardians of the pumping station”they said. They are demanding a review of the overtime paid to them, arguing that the current calculation is unfair and does not reflect the actual hours worked. The employees also want a review of their salaries based on their years of service in the organization, as per the report’s recommendations. Salary Research Bureau (PRB) 2021, Section 16.5.3, classifies them as workers.

According to PRB 2021, their spokesperson stressed that, Reservoir and pumping station managers The workers have been asked to work 40 hours a week instead of the current 60 hours. However, they added that despite numerous protests, neither the CWA management nor the union representatives have implemented the directive. The employees have taken the issues to the attention of regulators such as the Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities, but have so far been unsuccessful. On April 14, 2023, a meeting was held with the CWA management, which promised to take their grievances into consideration but stressed that it would take time to implement the required changes. waiter We are still waiting for concrete actions following this meeting.

Sunday Allowance

In addition, following the prime minister’s announcement in his New Year’s address in January, a civil service circular stipulates that starting from January, the wages of civil servants on a rotation system will be doubled every Sunday. The government expects to allocate 6.7 billion rupees to cover the allocations of just over five ministries, including essential services such as police and firefighters. About 40,000 civil servants are affected by the measure. However, staff at reservoirs and pumping stations, who work on a rotation system, have not received anything since January. “For 60 CWA attendants, this means a funding shortfall of about Rs 40,000 per employee.” Faced with this situation, they reported the matter to the Labor Department and informed CWA management, but there has been no progress. They are waiting for a meeting with the Ministry of Labor. We asked CWA for a version but to no avail.