Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 14: The J&K Employees and Workers Welfare Federation (JKEWWF) today advocated for the regularization of more than sixty thousand daily rated workers/casual labourers employed by the various departments in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Federation said that these labourers have also remained unpaid for several months despite working tirelessly for the smooth and effective functioning of the system, including in the current global pandemic situation.
It said that the Government of JK has adopted the Minimum Wage Act in 1948 and since then it has been revived the latest in 2017. According to the order issued, the workers have been classified into categories of Skilled, Unskilled, Highly Skilled, Administrative/ Ministerial/ Accounts Staff with prescribed wages.
“However, we have seen that all the casual labourers/daily rated workers engaged with various departments of the Government are paid in one general category of unskilled labourers with the minimum possible wages mentioned in the order,” JKEWWF said.
Some of the casual labourers and daily rated workers, it said, are highly qualified and skilled with professional degrees and therefore they must be paid in regard to their category as mentioned in the minimum wages act.
“As announced,…the incumbent must to fill up the vacancies against the available number of 60,000 daily wagers who have been identified and enlisted on the NIC portal for verification as per the SR0-64 of the state and the leftover candidates and be brought under minimum wages act until they qualify for regularizing.
“We urges the incumbent UT Government to draw a comprehensive permanent regularizing and wages policy for more than 60,000 daily wagers, who have been engaged with various departments of JK including PDD, PHE, PWD, UEED, Local Bodies, Floriculture and Agriculture, Forest and others,” it said.
Further, the Federation said that the Administrative Council has recently issued orders for the regularization of the services of ReT teachers in the Education Department, which is a welcome step but the daily wagers particularly employed with essential service departments who despite being vulnerable to risks continue their duties have been yet again ignored.
The Government of J&K has done remarkable, but unfortunately, no compassion has been shown by the State Government towards the thousands of poor daily wagers, it said.
The JKEWWF has demanded to provide a similar pattern of ration and other facilities to the families of these daily rated workers.
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