Dimapur, October 30 (MExN): Office of Dimapur Municipal Council remained closed today as the entire staff of the office, including sweepers and scavengers, resorted to indefinite agitation on “No Pay No Work” demanding for immediate release of their salary that has been held up since August last. CPF and service gratuity of the staff are also due.
The DMC Employees’ Association had written a representation to the Chief Executive Officer on October 10 last appealing the authority to release their pay within 15 days time, which the authority failed to fulfill.
Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur, Hushili Sema, arrived at DMC office premises. Along with DMC’s Chief Executive Officer, Orenthung Lotha, she spoke to agitating staff assuring that she will take up the matter to higher ups, stating that the case of the DMC staff is a serious one and needs to be looked into immediately by the higher authority.
Stating that present CEO of DMC has only been 42 days in office and therefore is not able to fulfill the demands of the staff, DC appealed to the staff to co-operate with the CEO and put ideas together and work a solution. Assuring the staff to seek for every possible means to release the staff salary, CEO told the staff that he would not give them false assurance.
He urged the staff to give him some time and to support him as he alone would not be able to bring solution to the problem. Orenthung said irregularities of the DMC has become like cancer which is spreading and now is the right time to streamline the entire system.
Suspension of DMC toll tax is one of the reasons why the office has not been able to generate enough revenue. Since he took over, Orenthung Lotha has release two months salary to sweepers and scavengers and one month salary to other staff.
The association has said that they will not call off their agitation at any cost until their salary is released. It said that the staff has been facing salary irregularity since the last seven months and that some of the staff living in rented houses have been forced out of their house on being unable to pay the house rent.
Staffs complain that they have been living a miserable life in the past seven months. Even their children are not able to go to school due to non payment of school fees.
A staff disclosed that at the time when former CEO Imtirenla took over she terminated the service of 30 staff who were appointed by her predecessors citing reason that office is over staffed and is unable to pay the salary and after some time, she made 50 new appointments on her discretion.
