Ready-mix concrete industry workers rally over wages

Hundreds of labourers from the ready-mix concrete industry staged a demonstration in front of Karmika Bhavan on Tuesday, demanding payment on par with other labourers in the industry and the state government’s intervention into their matter.

Under the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), labourers demanded minimum wages as per the Labour Act besides facilities like ESI, provident fund, leave facility and abolition of the contract system.

“The ready-mix concrete sector is a booming industry with a growing demand for housing and other infrastructural projects,” explained Puttegowda, member of the AICCTU. “In Bengaluru alone, there are more than 150 companies with close to 15,000 employees. Shockingly, workers from the industry are compared with construction labourers from the unorganised sector even though the industry is regulated by laws.”

Ramakrishnan, an employee from the industry, lamented over their plight. “I have been working for about 15 years. From units to the construction site, we take all responsibilities in getting ready concrete mix without any failure. But none of us has any fixed wage or schedule or any other facility that a normal employee gets in a recognised industrial sector,” he said.

Workers submitted a memorandum to the assistant labour commissioner. “We have received their list of demands and will discuss them at the government level,” the official said.