The State government has approved the transition of 613 Direct Contract Workers (DCW) at the Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. (KMML) to the status of casual workers.
The decision was reached following a high-level meeting chaired by Industries Minister P. Rajeeve, also attended by Chavara MLA Sujith Vijayan Pillai, senior KMML management, and representatives from various trade unions. The reclassification of DCW as casual worker ensures that these 613 employees are now legally entitled to statutory benefits and allowances in addition to their monthly salaries.The transition would be implemented while protecting their existing wage structure.
The meeting also took a decisive step regarding the Land Acquired Persons Association (LAPA) workers currently employed in the TSP unit as they will be upgraded to Direct Contract Workers (DCW). It was also decided to officially stop the practice of hiring workers through the LAPA, a society established to provide employment to families who had surrendered their land for the company’s expansion. A total of 733 LAPA workers were brought under the direct contract (DCW) system in 2019.
