The Central Government is in favour of a fair deal to every section of employees and a series of reforms, initiated in the last two years, are also aimed in that direction, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said this here today while speaking to a delegation of Northeast Customs Employees led by the Member of Parliament, Shri George Baker. The delegation sought the intervention of the Minister for redressal of their grievances including the continued engagement of many of them as casual workers. Shri Baker brought to the notice of Dr Jitendra Singh that even though the delegation mostly comprised Customs employees from North-Eastern States and West Bengal, the matter of fact is that the same grievance is being shared by Customs employees across the country including Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Cochin in Kerala, Vadodara in Gujarat, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Hyderabad in Telangana and Bengaluru in Karnataka. He also informed the Minister that the total number of casual employees engaged by the Customs Department stands at around 1919, who have been working on the same emoluments for the last 10 to 20 years. In a memorandum submitted on behalf of the delegation, Shri Baker appealed for formulating a policy to redeem the plight of these employees in consultation with the Union Ministry of Finance. Dr Jitendra Singh listened to their grievances and promised to take up their cause with the Union Ministry of Finance and find out what was the view on this issue in the Department of Customs and Central Excise. Dr Jitendra Singh also appreciated Shri Baker for his tireless crusade in support of the neglected and needy sections of society, particularly in the eastern parts of India.