Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 5: While expressing serious concern over J&K Government’s failure to fulfil its promise of regularizing daily wagers, casual labourers, scheme workers, contractual workers and others, working in various departments, CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami today said these poor people are already suffering due to the non-payment of wages for months together.
A deputation of J&K Casual and Daily Wagers Forum led by its president, Sajad Ahmad Parray who met the CPI (M) leader appraised him about the problems they were confronting due to the non-serious approach of the Government.
Thousands of daily-wagers and casual labourers who are involved in implementing the programs and policies of the Government and who play vital roles in keeping all essential services running are being deprived of their rights by the Government.
Despite unparalleled efforts of these temporary employees, their services have not been regularized till date by the successive regimes even though all the prerequisite formalities and other information sought from time to time has been furnished by them.
The Government must implement SRO-520 of 2017 in letter and spirit after making some amendments. The Government must also implement Minimum Wages Act, release pending wages of all daily wagers/casual labourers, provide benefits against death cases of workers and consider cases of land donors.
The weaker and poorer sections of the society have been totally neglected by the Government which has severely hit their means of livelihood. Most of these workers are the sole breadwinners of their respective families and how will they manage their day-to-day expenditure if the Government doesn’t pay them their wages?
They are being paid peanuts after putting up a lot of hard work and that too is being denied to them on time which is gross injustice. The Government makes tall claims when it comes to the welfare of the poor, but the reality is that injustice is being done to them.
He assured his full support to the J&K Casual labourers Daily Wagers Forum in their struggle to get their rights.