Excelsior Correspondent
SRINGAR, Dec 14: The Casual labourers of State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCO) at industrial growth centre Lassipora in South Kashmiri’s Pulwama district went on two day strike today to press for their demand of regularization.
The causal labourers locked the office chambers of SIDCO at Lassipora affecting the functioning of the office and staged a sit in protest in the office compound.
Mohammad Altaf Lone, a casual employee said that around 12 residents residing in the vicinity of industrial growth centre Lassipora were engaged as casual labourers in 2004 and in 2006 by the then PDP Government after they donated their land for growth centre.
“We were promised regularization in accordance with Government rules after seven years of service and we were expecting government to make a announcement in this regard in the recently held meeting of board of directors of SIDCO,” said Altaf. He said that the authorities in the meeting termed their engagement as illegal.
He said that the higher officers pointed out that they were engaged at a time when a code of conduct was in place. “We were engaged by then PDP Government after our selection was approved by concerned ministry and by then Managing Director, SIDCO”, he said.
“We worked on Rs 30 per day, then on Rs 70 a day before our wages were raised to Rs 4500 per month,” said Fayaz Ahmad, another casual laborer. He said that three casual labourers who were engaged years after them have been regularized only after three years and their case is lingering on for last 12 years.
“Ajit Paul Singh, Vijay Kumar and Mohammad Yaqoob Sheikh were engaged in 2006, 2007 and 2005 respectively by the then general manager, Mohammad Irfan Malik and their services were regularized, we don’t know on what basis were they regularized and our engagement is said to be made against rules,” Fayaz said.
Senior Manager at SIDCO Lassipora, Nazir Ahmad said that they are valuable employees of the department who work with dedication. “The regularization is being done by the board of directors and a proposal for regularization of these casual labourers was sent to them”, he said.
General Manager Personal and Administration SIDCO Kashmir, Khurshid Ahmad, said that their engagement was done in 2004 when government had banned such engagement. “Recently we sent their proposal to board of directors who pointed out that they were engaged at a time when Government had banned regularization of casual employment and as such they can’t be regularized”, he said.
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