New Delhi. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has approved the revision of the salary structure for workers employed at major ports. This information was given in an official statement. According to the statement, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Bilateral Wage Negotiation Committee and the Indian Ports Association (IPA). With this, the indefinite strike that disrupted operations at 12 major ports was averted. The organizations of employees working at the ports had announced an indefinite strike from Wednesday due to lack of agreement on salary revision.
According to the statement, the MoU between the two parties facilitates the revision of the pay structure and also takes into account other service conditions including pension benefits. It has been agreed that a fitment benefit of 8.5 per cent on the total amount of basic pay on December 31, 2021 and 30 per cent variable dearness allowance (VDA) will be given till January 1, 2022. The duration of this agreement has been fixed for five years from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2026. Under this, the new pay scale effective from January 1, 2022 will be prepared according to the existing practices. According to the statement, a special allowance of Rs 500 per month will be provided to the employees during the operational period of the agreement.
This will be payable from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2026 or till the date of retirement of the employee, whichever is earlier. Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on the settlement that the timely resolution of these issues reflects his ministry’s commitment to promote harmonious and productive work environment at all Indian ports. The decision was taken after an agreement was reached between representatives of employee unions and port management on the demands of the workers at a marathon meeting in the national capital on Tuesday.
