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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, September 21: The Labour Law Practioners' Association (LLPA) have decided to intensify their agitation after the state government failed to show any response to their plight. The lawyers have abstained from work since September 14 protesting the government's failure to shift the dilapidated labour and industrial courts at Tardeo.
Secretary of the LLPA, Mukund Jambaulikar, stated that a special meeting was held today where it was decided to intensify the agitation which includes taking recourse to hunger strike. ``But before doing that the LLPA would like to give a week's notice to the government so that they can look into our problems and call us for a meeting,'' he added.
The secretary said that despite the strike entering the eighth day today the government has not yet called the agitating lawyers for discussions. Jambaulikar further stated that the LLPA have made repeated attempts to contact ministers for a discussion but so far nothing has happened.
More than 850 labour and industriallawyers of Mumbai and Thane have abstained from work. While 600 lawyers affiliated to the association abstained from work since September 14, 250 lawyers from Thane decided to abstain from work from September 15 for a week in support of their counterparts in Mumbai. The Thane lawyers are scheduled to meet on September 22 to decide the future course of action.
Work was affected at the 12 Labour, 8 Industrial courts, the Workmen Compensation court and the Wage Board court situated at Arun Chambers, Tardeo for the eighth day today. In June this year, the members of the association had abstained from work and staged a chain hunger strike after a part of a courtroom cieling collapsed. The agitation was later withdrawn when the state government promised to allot alternate premises at Bandra and that the courts would be shifted to the new premises by August 15 this year.
Another issue taken up by the LLPA is the allocation of area in the new premises. While the existing area at Arun Chambers is 26,000 squarefeet the area to be alloted in the new premises is only 18,000 square feet in two floors (ground plus first) in the new administrative building at Bandra (E).
Jamabaulikar said that as per the new plan the space alloted for a bar room is 360 square feet and no provision has been made for a library and a ladies room. He said that as of now the association is ready to accept the stop-gap arrangements but the government should shift the courts with immediate effect otherwise there will be a lot of casualties.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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