PHE workers seek release of pending wages, regularization

Excelsior Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Sept 2: The Jal Shakti (PHE) Employees and Workers Association has urged the J&K Government to address the long-pending demands of daily wagers and workers of the Jal Shakti Department, including release of pending wages and implementation of a regularization policy.

The demand was raised during a district executive body meeting of the Association held at the PHE Complex, Udhampur, under the chairmanship of Som Nath, president of the association and senior trade union leader of Jammu province.

Addressing the meeting, Som Nath criticized the Government for the delay in resolving the issues of daily wagers. He said the five-member committee headed by the Chief Secretary was constituted around 18 months ago and was asked to submit its report within six months, but the report was yet to be submitted.

He said thousands of daily wagers had been struggling for their rights for the past 15 to 20 years, while successive committees constituted to examine their demands had failed to provide a concrete solution.

The Association demanded implementation of minimum wages and immediate release of pending wages, including dues for the period from 2014 to 2019, along with interest.

Another major demand was regularization of CP, ITI and land-case workers who have completed seven years of service and fulfilled other requirements under SRO-64 of 1994.

The Association also highlighted the acute shortage of staff in the department, saying several water supply schemes were facing the risk of becoming non-functional due to retirements and inadequate manpower.

It further demanded that Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meetings be conducted at divisional and provincial levels at least twice a year.

Som Nath appealed to the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister to intervene and ensure early resolution of the workers' issues, particularly the pending wages.