Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Oct 16: The PHE workers and employees led by senior Trade Union leader, Som Nath today held strong protest demonstration in semi-naked position at PHE complex Barrian here, demanding regularization and release of pending wages of the daily rated/ consolidated workers.
The PHE workers/ daily wagers in large number from entire Udhampur district assembled at the PHE Complex Udhampur today under the banner of PHE Employees United Front and pulled out their shirts and under- shirts to mark their protest. They strongly condemned the attitude of the previous BJP-PDP Government and the J&K Administration for ignoring their genuine and justified demands. They alleged that families of the workers are facing starvation as they have been denied wages of over 60 months. The workers raised loud slogans against PHE/ Jal Shakti authorities and Lt Governor’s Administration. Their strike today entered 22nd day.
While addressing the large meeting of workers, Som Nath alleged that despite representations to senior officers, bureaucrats and the Advisors besides ministers in the previous Government, the authorities failed to clear the wages of the workers, who are performing their duties at their respective water stations. They are facing worst kind of exploitation at the hands of the Government. No Human Rights body has even bothered to listen to the plight of these ‘bonded labourers’ in the J&K PHE department, he said.
He said the helpless workers are unable to feed their families and continue the studies of their children. Some children have dropped out as their parents failed to pay school fees. He said that Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha must intervene into the matter.
Som Nath further demanded regularization of CP/ ITI and Land case workers of PHE, remove shortage of staff at water stations and other PHE offices, clear pending SRO-43 cases, conduct DPC at Divisional and Provincial level, change the designation of the employees as per their nature of work and also release wages of imprest workers engaged for the last over 5 years.
Senior members of the Front, Rajinder Sharma, Kulbhushan Bhat, Bantu, Sanjay Kumar, Madan Lal, Javed, Karan Singh and Shamsher Singh also spoke on the occasion.
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