Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/ SRINAGAR, Aug 24: All departments casual labourers and daily wagers staged massive protest demonstrations at Jammu and Srinagar cities in support of their long pending demands of regularization, revisiting of SRO-520 and release of their pending wages.
These workers who are nearly 61,000 in number held protest demonstration in Jammu and Kashmir regions under the banner of All Department Casual Labours United Front. The heads of many unions and associations of the workers/ employees from various departments were leading the protests, following Covid SOPs.
They workers assembled near the office of Divisional Commissioner and held protest demonstration. Another group staged protest near Dogra Chowk and Shakuntla Chowk. Senior leaders Tanveer Hussain, Akhil Sharma Hoshiyar Singh Chib, Rajinder Singh, Bhanu Partap and others were leading. They were demanding framing of a policy for their regularization, release of pending wages, revisiting SRO-520. Provision of basic pay, grade pay, DA, Medical Allowance, HRA, CCA, Children Education Allowance, Transport Allowance and other benefits being provided to the other employees of the J&K UT. They also demanded implementation of minimum Wages Act. They also submitted a memorandum to the Divisional Commissioner Jammu with their demands. Similar protests were also held at some districts headquarters.
Reports from Srinagar said that PHE casual daily wagers today staged a massive protest here demanding regularization of their services and the implementation of the Minimum Wages Act.
Scores of such employees assembled here and said that the Government has been ignoring their plight and hardships. “We have earlier also come down on streets and the administration had an idea how many people were out on roads; the Government should not compel us to come to do the same, rather should take care of our demands,” Sajad Parray, president of the Association representing the casual wagers said.
He said that the protest is being carried out in Kashmir as well as in Srinagar to impress upon the Government that the issues that these workers are confronting are enormous and that there is a need to address the same.
“We are not demanding anything new; we have been promised the same by the Governments that came to power, even the officials promised us and lately the LG of the UT. Even the Prime Minister said that the Minimum Wages Act and the Regularization policy will be implemented, however, one year has passed and nothing has been done so far in this direction,” he said.
The protestors said that if the Government fails in fulfilling their demands, they will be forced to come out on the streets along with their families.
The labourers later tried to carry out a march from the Press Enclave, however, police foiled their plan and arrested some individuals.
The casual labourers of Estates Department also staged a protest demanding regularization of their services as was nodded by the administration under SRO 520. Scores of such labourers assembled here in the Press enclave and raised slogans in favour of their demands. They said that their regularization under the said SRO has not been carried out as of now due to which they are suffering. The protestors demanded that their issue must be resolved without any further delay.
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