Workers’ protest halts construction work at thermal power plant site

Buxar: Construction work at the 1320MW thermal power project in Chausa was disrupted on Friday after hundreds of workers assembled at the plant’s main gate, raising slogans and halting activities at the site.The workers, who have been on strike for the past three days, briefly created a tense situation at the project site. Security personnel from the CISF and local police were deployed and attempted to persuade the protesters to disperse from the main gate.During the protest, the workers also tried to prevent officials and employees from entering the plant premises, saying that they would neither resume work nor allow others to work until their demands were met.

Later, labour leaders Ram Pravesh Yadav and Pappu Pandey reached the spot and appealed to the workers to maintain calm. Following their intervention, the workers returned to their residential colonies but warned that the agitation would intensify if their demands were not addressed soon.Yadav said an 11-point memorandum had been submitted to the company management on Feb 20, demanding payment of wages according to board rates and resolution of several labour-related issues.

Although the management had assured timely payment and adherence to the prescribed wage rates, workers allege that no concrete action has been taken so far.The striking workers are mainly employed by the companies engaged in the construction of the project. Their key demands include implementation of an eight-hour workday, payment according to board rates and the Minimum Wages Act, overtime wages, timely salary disbursement, workplace safety, and proper deduction of Provident Fund (PF) and Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) benefits.The thermal power project, being developed with two units of 660MW each, is one of Bihar’s major power generation initiatives and employs thousands of workers. Construction activities have now been affected due to the ongoing strike.