Balasore: Although the state government has fixed minimum wage at Rs 375 per day, a differently-abled person hired on contract is being paid Rs 116 a day by Balasore Municipality.
Rakesh Kumar Panda, 45, is a differently-abled person who has been working with the Balasore Municipality Office for the last eight years as a contract worker.
Rakesh has decided to take up manual labour as the contractors pay more than what the civic body pays him.
Rakesh said he had been urging the District Welfare Officer in vain to regularise his contract job as he had already worked for eight years with the Municipality.
Hailing from Basberhampur village of Balasore district Rakesh joined as a peon on contract at Balasore Municipality October 30, 2012. Now he gets Rs 4,400 as salary.
He said the accounts department has been deducting Rs 940 per month as EPF and ESI, but gave him no receipt so far. Rakesh said it has become difficult for him to maintain his family with the meager income.
“Additional Secretary of the Social Welfare Department, Ashok Kumar Bhuyan, had asked the District Social Welfare Officer (DSWO) to submit a report on differently-abled employees hired on contract in government offices May 7, 2016. But till now the DSWO has not submitted the report. Consequently, five differently-abled persons are working on contract leading a miserable life,” complained Rakesh.
When contacted, DSWO Santosh Kumar Sabat said he has sent all papers on differently-abled employees hired on contract to the main branch. “I will discuss with higher-ups about this as differently-abled persons are facing financial difficulties,” he added.
PNN
