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Punjab panchayats pass resolutions to fix labourers’ wages; threaten dissenters with social boycott, hefty fines
Wages fixed at Rs 2,500-Rs 3,200 per acre, labourers forbidden from leaving village; govt officials term resolutions illegal
With demand for local labourers increasing as the paddy season draws closer, panchayats in Punjab have started issuing ‘diktats’ to finalise wages for sowing paddy. Some have also threatened dissenters with social boycott and hefty penalties.
The paddy season will commence from June 10. As per the resolutions passed by the panchayats, farm labourers will be paid Rs 2,500-Rs 3,200 per acre for sowing paddy.
Labourers have also been barred from moving out of village for work.
Sukhijit Kaur, sarpanch of Muktsar’s Bhalayiana village, said, “Such a resolution has been passed for the first time due to labour shortage. It will help both farmers and labourers as the rates decided suit both parties.”
The acute shortage of labour due to mass exodus of the migrant labourers from state during lockdown has driven up the rates of local labour.
Labourers are demanding Rs 4,000-4,500 per acre, which is a steep increase from last year’s Rs 2,800 per acre.
Farmers and labourers are at loggerheads with the latter demanding higher wages, and the former reluctant to oblige.
THREATS ISSUED
However, some resolutions passed by villages, especially in the southern districts of Punjab, primarily Bathinda, Muktsar, Sangrur and Patiala, are threatening in nature. A few panchayats have proposed socially boycotting labourers should they demand more wages than the stipulated rates.
Though the department of rural development does not yet have the exact number of panchayats that have passed such orders, officials say villages are increasingly following the trend.
The panchayat of Ghanauri Khurd village in Dhuri block of Sangrur district went so far to direct the labourers to carry their own utensils for tea and lunch. Similar directions were issued in the resolution passed by Kharayal village of the Sangrur district.
Ghanauri Khurd village sarpanch Rajdeep Kaur said the resolution had been passed so as to avoid confusion while hiring labourers.
“The decision to bar labourers from providing their services at other villages was taken to cope with shortage of labour,” she said.
RS 5,000-RS 25,000 FINES TO BE IMPOSED
The resolutions have also stipulated a fine ranging between Rs 5,000-Rs 25,000, which will be imposed in case either party violates the panchayats’ directions.
Moga’s Singhawala village has decided to increase the fine to Rs 50,000, besides banning entry of labourers from other areas.
‘UNEASY CALM PREVAILS’
Bhinder Singh, the husband of Bathinda’s Jeeda village sarpanch Kulwinder Kaur, said an uneasy calm prevails among farmers and labourers as the local labourers were demanding exorbitant.
“The resolutions have been passed so that farmers are not burdened and labourers are not underpaid,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gurusar village sarpanch Beant Singh Sidhu said they had dropped the idea of fixing labour prices after drafting a detailed resolution.
“We have decided to let farmers and labourers negotiate the final prices and other terms and conditions,” he said.
RESOLUTIONS UNACCEPTABLE, SAY LABOUR UNIONS
The resolutions have not gone down well with labour unions.
Punjab Khet Majdoor Union general secretary Lachhman Singh Sewewala said the resolutions were illegitimate.
“We have all the right to demand wages as per the requirement of work. How can a village panchayat force labourers to work in the village only?” he asked.
“Last year, migrant labourers were paid Rs 2,700-3,200 for sowing paddy per acre, and now panchayats are offering the same rates to us,” Sewewala said.
Panchayats are threatening social boycott and hefty fines, which is unconstitutional, he said.
Kashmir Singh, a labour activist and Punjab executive member of the Communist party of India, said village panchayats should immediately roll back their resolutions.
“We are not bonded labour and should be included in decision making. Moreover, the panchayat has no right to decide anybody’s earnings,” Singh said.
DEPARTMENT SAYS RESOLUTIONS ARE ILLEGAL
Punjab rural development and panchayats department director of DPS Kharbanda said, “Gram panchayats are not entitled to pass orders determining the wages of labourers. These resolutions are illegal and we will cancel all such resolutions once they are tabled.”
“I have already instructed district-level officials across the state to check and stop such practices,” he said.
The agriculture department has estimated that around 12.5 lakh labourers will be required to sow paddy in 30 days. Most labour available in villages belong to dalit communities.
