ITANAGAR, 29 Nov: The Joint Working Committee of Arunachal Pradesh Trade Unions (JWCAPTU) has demanded removal of Arunachal Pradesh Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (APB&OCWWB) Chairman Nyato Dukam and OSD to the board Tadung Rigia, alleging “complete malfunctioning in the affairs of the board under the incumbent chairman.”
In a memorandum to the chief minister, the committee made a series of allegations, such as irregularity in the appointment of the OSD; distribution of statutory and non-statutory benefits only to the people of the assembly constituency of Dukam (who is also the Taliha MLA); failure to disburse housing loans to registered workers; construction of ‘labour shelter houses’ by the chairman and the OSD “at their own wish, without approval of board members”; and conducting of awareness campaigns by the two “at their whims, neglecting the required places and misusing the awareness fund by not showing evidential documentation on
awareness camp conducted by them to the board and laundering the fund meant for the benefit of workers.”
The JWCAPTU also said that the “OSD has appointed private secretary to the chairman to the post of registering officer and many other employees without approval of the board members as per rule, whereas the secretary of the board is the chief executive officer/administrator of the board who is competent authority to appoint with approval of the board.”
“It is also observed that, most of the time, office of chairman, APB&OCWWB is currently flooded with people/party leaders from his assembly constituency only as he being the elected MLA of one constituency of Arunachal Pradesh,” it claimed, adding that the “leaders/registered workers concerned with the affairs of the board are being deprived of appointment to place and discuss their grievances.”
Further accusing the chairman of “misusing his official position to promote rampant corruption in the board office,” the committee said, “If this is continued, the 1 percent cess from government, meant for labour class will be all exhausted, leaving registered workers to suffer in the long run.”
The JWCAPTU also said that, “whenever an elected MLA takes charge of the office of the chairman of the labour board, the true beneficiaries – the registered workers – suffer as they intend to concentrate in their constituency to build political mileage out of it.”
Besides calling for removal of the chairman and the OSD, the JWCAPTU said that “from now onwards, no elected leaders/MLAs should be appointed to the post of the chairman, APB&OCWWB.
“If the government continues to appoint elected leader to this chair, our workers across the state will hold democratic movement which will be massive in nature,” it said, adding that “an experienced professional trade union leader having wider experiences of serving the labour community may be appointed to the post of the APB&OCWWB chairman.”
