Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 22: Hundreds of Home Guards today staged a protest in Jammu, seeking enhancement of their wages.
The protesters, both men and women, were carrying placards and chanted slogans during an hour-long protest during which they tried to block vehicular traffic on main bridge on Tawi River.
They invited the attention of Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and requested him to address their long pending demand of enhancement of wages. “A Home Guard is paid Rs 2,700 per month which is in violation of the 2017 Supreme Court ruling that the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ has to be extended to those engaged in ad hoc or contractual work,” a protesting Home Guard said.
He said they have been rendering their services to the Government for the last two decades and have highlighted their various demands, but no action was taken, forcing them to again take to roads. “If our demands are not met, we will further intensify our protest,” he added.
Another protester said the Home Guards are facing “injustice” as they are providing their services for a meager amount which has pushed them into poverty with the future of their children at stake. “The Government should immediately implement ‘equal pay for equal work’ principle in the Union Territory and also chalk out a strategy to ensure early regularization of Home Guards,” he added.
The protesting Home Guards also demanded other service benefits provided to their counterparts in other states and UTs like Delhi.
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