Pune: Contract Workers in Pune Municipal Corporation to Receive Diwali Bonus Following Labor Commissioner’s Order

Pune, 3rd November 2023: The contract workers employed by the Pune Municipal Corporation can look forward to a sweeter Diwali this year, thanks to the intervention of Assistant Labor Commissioner N A Walke, who has issued an order for the payment of bonuses to them. A formal letter has been dispatched to the Municipal Corporation to facilitate the distribution of these bonuses.

However, it should be noted that the Municipal Corporation itself will not directly provide these bonuses. Instead, the responsibility falls on the Municipal Contractors, as the Bonus Act of 1965 applies to them. This decision ensures that around 9,000 municipal contract workers receive their well-deserved bonuses, delivering a sense of justice to this workforce.

The contract workers, numbering approximately 9,000 in the municipal corporation, have been advocating for bonuses and concessionary benefits similar to permanent employees. In response to this demand, Sunil Shinde, the president of Rashtriya Mazdoor Sangh, initiated a hunger strike in front of the Municipal Corporation starting on Wednesday (1st). The rationale behind the demand is that both contract and permanent employees perform the same work, justifying the request for bonuses akin to permanent employees.

Municipal authorities clarified that the responsibility for the bonuses lies with the contractors, as they are already adhering to the Municipal Corporation’s minimum wage policy. Despite holding a meeting on Thursday (2nd) to resolve the issue, a solution was not reached. A delegation later met with Commissioner Vikram Kumar in the presence of Congress city president Arvind Shinde and Ajit Darekar.

The meeting discussed the legal obligations, with the contractor being mandated by law to provide bonuses. However, the municipal corporation initially claimed they had no such order. After contacting the Labor Commissioner’s office, it was determined that the contractor is indeed obligated to pay bonuses. A letter on this matter has since been sent to the Municipal Corporation.

Sunil Shinde, President of the National Labour Union, expressed his satisfaction with the decision, stating, “Today’s decision is a historic victory. The bonus was suspended for the last 10 years.”

The Municipal Corporation has acknowledged the Assistant Labor Commissioner’s letter, confirming that the municipal contractors must adhere to the Bonus Provision Act and provide the bonuses as mandated by law. The municipal corporation will oversee and ensure the implementation of this directive.