Gujarat
Chemical Mazdoor Panchayat: In Gujarat, the Chemical Mazdoor Panchayat (CMP) won a major legal victory for contract labour in Gujarat Electricity Board where approximately 600 workers won permanent status from retrospective effect. Through a long-drawn struggle for increasing the minimum wages the union won a revision of contract labour wages to Rs. 138.70, 142.80, 144.30 and 149.07 for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers. They also got a order for revocation of cancellation of prohibition of contract labour in maintenance of belts, coal sorting in thermal power stations and a notification of prohibition of contract labour in Coal Mill and Coal Yard of Gandhinagar Thermal Power Station. In another legal victory for contract labour a lockout at KHRIBCO was declared illegal with an award for full back wages. A negotiation is on now for a comprehensive settlement of regularisation of 600 workers in GSFC, Baroda with lump sum payment for past dues as a result of legal victory in case of Equal Wages for Equal Work and for regularisation case. Cases against contractualisation of labour are still pending at the Gujarat High Court against Bharuch plant of GNFC and GSEB, Sikka.