Puri: Contractual workers of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) engaged in Srimandir repair Friday launched a cease work agitation seeking job regularisation.
The agitating workers also protested a move to engage a private firm to carry out the temple repair work. They alleged that the ASI has recently fired at least 38 contractual workers without any prior notice.
“The workers have been working for ASI for the last 15 years. The ASI authorities have retrenched some workers recently and planned to outsource the temple repair work. We have launched a cease work protest to protest the outsourcing of Srimandir repair,” said ASI employees’ union Puri unit vice-president Santosh Patnaik.
Patnaik claimed that ASI employees’ union all India president Subhas Naik had met the Union Culture Minister August 4 and raised the outsourcing issue with him. The minister had assured Naik to take appropriate action on the issue.
“Some ASI officials have colluded with a few contractors to outsource the repair work to a private agency. We urge the ASI to regularise the jobs of contractual workers,” Patnaik said.
