Hundreds of outsourcing employees in Bhubaneswar staged demonstrations at Lower PMG Square on Saturday, demanding job regularisation and salary hikes, among other things.
The outsourcing employees marched in a massive rally to Lower PMG Square to demand job security and an increase in pay, according to sources. They also threatened to intensify their protests if their demands were not met soon.
“We have been protesting since 2018 seeking fulfillment of our demands. In November last year, the CMO had called us and assured us that our demands will be fulfilled within a month. Even though four months have passed, nothing has been done except a couple of meetings with the Chief Secretary,” said Sanjay Patnaik, the president of outsourcing employees.
“We will continue our protest until our demands are met,” Patnaik added.
An agitator said, “We are forced to hit the streets again as the government is not paying any heed to our repeated demands. We hope our protest may help the government to wake up from its slumber.”
It is worth mentioning that the Odisha government’s Service Provider Agencies (SPAs) were put under the ‘Mo Sarkar‘ scheme in February of this year.
The government had decided to felicitate those agencies giving their employees salaries regularly and adequately. If any organization is found to be falling behind as far as staff remuneration is concerned, they will be flagged and if required, those agencies will be blacklisted.