Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 23: A large number of Daily Rated Workers (DRWs) of the Jal Shakti/PHE department staged a strong protest dharna here on Thursday, demanding the Government to release the report of the Committee set up by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on the regularisation of their services.
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Hundreds of of the PHE workers under the banner of PHE Employees United Front, Jammu, assembled outside the office of Chief Engineer PHE Jammu at B C Road here today and urged the Chief Minister to table the Committee report in the Legislative Assembly.
The workers’ body also threatened to hold an aggressive protest on October 27 if their demands are not met, asserting that daily wagers have been struggling for over two decades for the regularisation of their services.
Amid slogans of “We want justice”, the workers held a dharna demonstration at the B C Road PHE Complex Jammu on the first day of the autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
The daily wage staff said they would continue their protest for regularisation and implementation of the Minimum Wages Act.
“We have held protests for over 1,220 days, but the Government has failed to fulfill our demand for the regularisation of daily wagers. Then CM had said that Committee will give its report within six months and the issue will be resolved but seven months have passed but the issue remained unresolved. On the first day of the Assembly Session, we want to remind the government about our demand and seek the fate of the committee report,” PHE Employees United Front leader Ravi Hans told media-persons.
“When we were on the roads during the last session, the committee was announced by the CM, and a period of six months was given to it to table the report. It was to be submitted by September 19, but till now, we do not know the fate of the report,” he asserted.
The workers’ body demanded that the government table the report during the current session. “If the government fails to table the report in the assembly, the front will hold an aggressive protest on October 27,” he warned.
Abdullah had announced the formation of the committee in the assembly, saying that a roadmap would be prepared for presentation in the next budget session.
The Committee, headed by the Chief Secretary, was tasked to examine various issues, including humanitarian, legal, and financial aspects related to the regularisation of about 67000 casual, seasonal labourers, and other workers in Jammu and Kashmir, and to suggest measures.
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