Employees’ bodies call for strike from today
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, June 21: With failure of Government to fulfill its promise of regularizing the services of daily rated workers working in various Government departments in J&K UT for decades together, the daily wagers felt betrayed and their associations have given a call for two-day strike from tomorrow.
According to sources, thousands of the daily wagers in various Government Departments including PDD, PHE, Irrigation and R&B working on paltry wages of Rs 6000 per month are running from pillar to post for their regularization over two decades now. Despite the announcement by the previous State Government of PDP and BJP to regularise services of 60,000 daily wagers in the year 2017 under SRO 520, the announcement has not seen the light of the day, sources added.
In 2017 December, the then Finance Minister of the coalition Government, Dr Haseeb Drabu made an announcement regarding regularisation of the daily wagers of various categories under SRO 520 and after regularization these employees were to be designated as Government Services Assistants. Under the SRO, the daily wagers were classified in skilled, semi skilled and unskilled categories and pay bands were also announced for them under different categories. But this all proved a total betrayal later as no headway was made in this regard after the fall of coalition, sources added.
Sources said these daily wagers were eagerly waiting for the issuance of orders and the Government’s announcement had generated a new hope in them but all this was dashed to the ground as the process of regularisation has been put on hold by the new dispensation after the fall of coalition Government in J&K. Failing to seek justice, various employees’ organizations have given a call for strike of two days from tomorrow in support of the daily wagers regularization and release of their pending salaries.
The daily wagers whose figure as per the data has crossed over one lakh in the UT have been left with no alternative but to come to streets in protest, sources said, adding that there is a brewing resentment among employees bodies’ against the Government which has adopted a stoic silence over the regularization issue as the files are biting the dust in the respective Government offices.
The problem is not confined to the regularization of these daily wagers among whom considerable number is need based workers while others have been classified as permanent daily wagers but majority of them especially the need based workers have not been paid their wages in various departments for last over six years, sources said.
The another grave injustice being faced by them is that the Minimum Wages Act which is applicable in other UTs of the country has not been implemented on these hapless workers since the conversion of J&K State into UT last year, sources said, adding they are paid only a paltry wages of Rs 225 per day which can’t suffice them to make their body and soul together.
In Jammu province, there are about 5000 need based workers in PDD alone while 1489 are Permanent Daily Wagers, sources said, adding both the categories of them are waiting eagerly for their regularization under SRO 381 of PDD which has been framed for regularisation of daily wagers against the Class IV vacancies in the Department.
According to Parshotam Sharma, a senior Trade Union leader and representative of J&K Central Non Gazetted Electric Employees Union, 2760 out of 5000 need based workers have been given wages whose names were uploaded in NIC and whose names have not been uploaded are without wages for years together. He said there are also 1489 PDLs in the Department whose cases are also pending for regularization.
He said it is pity that the daily wagers who run the Department which is staff starved have been totally neglected by the Government despite the fact many of them died while performing the duties on HT and LT lines and others became life long handicapped.
Surjit Singh, PDD Daily Wagers Provincial president and provincial secretary of Central Non Gazette Electric Employees Union, Jammu said his organization is totally opposed to appointment of new 10,000 class IV employees in PDD till the daily wagers are regularized against vacant posts under SRO 381. He accused the Government of betraying the daily wagers of the Department by adopting new tactics which will not be acceptable. “We have separate SRO for regularisation in PDD and it should be implemented in letter and spirit failing which the employees will launch the agitation”, he added.
PHE workers who have also given a call for two days strike said there are 23000 daily wagers in the Department alone in Jammu province who have genuine cases and there should be no further delay in their regularization.
However, the Chief Engineer, PHE, Jammu, Sanjeev Chadda said there are about 16,000 to 17,000 daily wagers in PHE Jammu region. He said the file for their regularisation has been submitted to the Government and the Administrative Council has to take decision in this regard.
There are 2500 daily wagers in PWD Jammu, said Satish Sharma president of PWD Daily Wagers Union whose organization is also joining two days strike from tomorrow.
Sources said that in Ganderbal Sub Transmission Division alone over 600 daily wagers are without wages for over six years. They are running from pillar to post for release of their wages but no officer at the helm of affairs bothers to settle their issue. The wages have not been released in their favour due to the tussle between the Drawing and Disbursing Officer and his superior putting these hapless workers to trouble as many of them are at the verge of starvation, sources added.
Sources said despite the fact that these workers are performing emergency duties and manning the power stations round the clock to ensure the supply of power and some of them have even died in harness while others have become handicapped after receiving the electric shocks. However, the Government has failed to give justice to them.
Though they have been engaged in the Department prior to 2015 March but these workers are still awaiting their regularization orders.
When contacted the PDD District SE Ganderbal, Hilal Ahmed Sheikh said he has sought information from the Executive Engineer, STD Ganderbal about these daily wagers but the same is awaited. “ I want to ascertain their genuineness as the Government has put a blanket ban on their appointment after 2017 so I want to see whether these daily wagers have been appointed prior to 2015 March the cut of date announced for their regularization or not’’, he added.
He said “I want to ascertain whether they have taken wages before 2015 or not. Out of 12 months in a year they should at least have taken the wages for four to five months as per records to ascertain their genuineness.”
However, the trade union activists and leaders of various daily wager organizations said that delay on the part of the officer in submitting the list should not be, made a reason for the daily wagers sufferings. Mir Ghulam Rasool and Mohammed Maqbool Ganai, trade union leaders while expressing concern over the plight of these daily rated workers, who are without wages for years together, termed it a great human rights violation.
They accused the officers of totally being irresponsible towards the plight of these hapless workers who are at the verge of starvation after not being paid their salaries for years together and demanded a probe into the matter. Both Mir and Ganai said that there are thousands of daily wagers in Kashmir valley in different departments who are craving for their regularization for years together but the Government has no concrete policy in this regard.
Fayaz Ahmed, Shameem Ahmed Tantry, Mushtaq Ahmed Baba, Javed Ahmed, all need based workers of STD Ganderbal said that they have been working in the Department for over last one decade but they have not received their wages for years together. “With the announcement of regularisation made by previous Government in 2018 a ray of hope had generated among us but this all dashed to ground after the dilly delaying tactics adopted by the present dispensation in this regard’’, they added .
When contacted, Principal Secretary Power, Rohit Kansal said that he can’t say anything regarding the regularization of daily wagers as GAD is dealing with the issue.
Commissioner/Secretary GAD, Farooq Ahmed Lone, however, said that Committee has been framed in this regard and Government is looking into the issue but no time frame has been given.
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