Contract workers doing back-end jobs for the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) in central Delhi have knocked on the doors of the Labour Ministry, seeking regularisation of jobs of perennial nature and compliance of contract labour laws.

In a memorandum submitted to Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Wednesday, the workers said some of them have been working for as long as 12 years but have not yet been regularised.

“The security guards or housing cleaning staffs are working in IT Centre, IRCTC, with 12-hour duty shifts without being paid overtime. They do not get weekly rest, privilege or casual leave even though they have been through several contracts in the past several years,” said Surjeet Shyamal, Convener of Unit IRCTC, affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

‘No benefits’

He said despite being a public sector unit, the workers were not being paid minimum wages, getting salary slips or bonuses as per Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. “The workmen are paid a meagre ₹12,000/month, whereas regular staff gets over ₹30,000/month with benefits,” Shyamal said.

There are about 300 employees working on a contract basis, employed for the last 11 years in the category of executive IT or customer care executives, said the memo, alleging that some contractors did not even have the requisite licence.

The memo drew the Minister’s attention to a Ministry circular dated January, 23, 2013, which, among others, highlighted penal action against defaulters of the Contract Act and Central Rules framed thereunder. “The IRCTC has not implemented the above circular,” it added.

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