Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Aug 2: Strongly demanding regularization of all the daily wagers, Jal Shakti (PHE) Employees & Workers Association has alleged that local BJP leaders were befooling the PHE workers since long.
While addressing workers’ meeting at Udhampur today, senior trade union leader and president of the JSEWA, Som Nath said that PHE daily wagers and consolidated workers are struggling for the last over 15-20 years for the regularisation of their services. Many of them have rendered the services of over 20-25 years and have given their prime youth to the department but they are still waiting for justice. They are the worst example of exploitation in the country.
Som Nath said the PHE workers are on strike for the last 43 days. They had talks with the Principal Secretary Jal Shakti Deptt thrice ion presence of Chief Engineer but it is unfortunate that no solution could be evolved. He said the BJP leaders and as well as LG’s Administration was befooling the PHE workers.
He pointed out that on Nov 11, 2020, their Association leaders met the Lt Governor over the issues of daily wagers including release of wages and regularization, the LG assured that their issues will be resolved within three months but it is unfortunate that even after 20 months the issues could not be resolved. He said many workers are without wages since long. He alleged that Govt itself was forcing daily wagers to go on strike.
Som Nath urged the Government to enact a concrete policy for the regularisation of daily wagers, release of the pending wages of daily rated/ consolidated/ land donor workers, implement Minimum Wages Act in J&K, clear all the pending SRO-43 cases, conduct DPC of all cadre in the department, fill up of all the vacant posts, remove shortage of staff at water/ pumping stations and Division and Sub Divisional level offices and initiate repair/ maintenance of duty/ staff rooms.
Others who spoke on the occasion included- Vijay Kumar Sharma, Suraj Parkash, Dinesh Kesar, Makhan Chand, Rajinder Sharma, Karan Singh and others.