Port Blair, Jan 09: The Division Bench of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court, sitting Circuit at Port Blair, while disposing of the Appeal filed by the Andaman Sarvajanik Nirman Vibhag Mazdoor Sangh (CITU), on 7th January, 2020 has stayed the retrenchment of about 600 workers of APWD and set aside the Notice under section 25F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 issued to the daily rated workers by the APWD intimating the intention of the APWD to retrench them from the service. The Hon’ble High Court directed that the stay will continue till the disposal of the conciliation proceedings pending before the Labour Department and for a further period of one month therefrom to enable the appellants to take proper steps, if necessary.
The APWD had issued notices to nearly 600 daily rated workers who have been working in the APWD for the last several years to dispense with their services. Coercive measures were adopted by the authorities to remove these daily rated workers from the service. Shri G. Binnu Kumar, Advocate appeared in the Hon’ble High Court on behalf of the Union while Shri B. Chandrachoodan, President of the Union has been representing the affected workers in the conciliation proceedings before the Labour Department.
The workers of APWD have been on a week-long agitation from 2nd January throughout the islands with their various demands.