CFC staff strike work; citizens at receiving end

The agitation by a section of the staff of the Citizens’ Facilitation Centre (CFC) at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) headquarters has paralysed the functioning of the centre. The employees, brought in by outsourcing, are hired by a contractor.

The employees claim that the contractor has not paid them for two months. On Friday and Saturday, hundreds of citizens had to return empty-handed since the disgruntled employees stopped work. The centre accepts bills related to the PMC that the citizens have to pay.

An aggrieved citizen, Rajesh Kachare, told DNA that he visited the centre for two days, but was unable to pay his bills. “In fact, on Friday I took half-day’s leave from my office only for that. However, I returned empty-handed,” he lamented.

Echoing similar views, another citizen, Matin Mujawar, said he had to do urgent work at the CFC. But, due to the agitation, he was not able to complete it.

Additional municipal commissioner, Naresh Zurmure, who is in-charge of the CFC said, “We are setting things right. We have permission from the standing committee to re-issue the tender for outsourcing of the work and we are in the process of doing so.”

Although the corporation pays the contractors on time, they fail to pay their employees, which leads to resentment among the staff, he said. Zurmure said if needed, the PMC will appoint personnel at the centre, so that citizens do not suffer.