Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Apr 23: Water Works PHE Employees Association has demanded release of pending wages of the workers for the last about five years and their regularization.
In a meeting of the Association held at PHE Complex Udhampur today, Som Nath, senior vice president of PHE Employees Association Jammu province, strongly criticized the State Government and higher authorities in the PHE department for depriving the workers of their hard earned money. He alleged that the workers are performing their duty but have been denied their wages for the last over five years. He termed it as a criminal offence.
Som Nath alleged that workers’ families have been left to face starvation and they are not able to pay the school fee of their children or feed the families. Despite several representations, protests and strikes by the employees bodies, the Governor’s Administration has also turned blind eye towards their burning issues. He said the Govt had engaged imprest workers for the last 15 years but it is not paying wages to them. The Govt must hold inquiry that who had engaged these workers.
He pointed out that Govt has also failed to implement SRO-520 and to sort out the problem of shortage of staff at pumping stations and other offices. He also demanded filling up of vacant posts, change the designation of the employees as per the nature of job, conduct of DPC of all cadre and enhance Medical allowance of the employees and pensioners.
It was also unanimously decided in the meeting to hold grand May Day rally at Udhampur on May Ist to project workers’ issues.
Prominent among those who addressed the meeting included- Suraj Parkash, Makhan Chand, Dinesh Kesar, Krishan Chand, Karan Singh, Prem Nath, Dara Singh, Balbir Singh, Charan Dass, Sanjy Kumar, Rajinder and Vinod Kumar.
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