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Power employees, unemployed youth hold protest in Shimla, raise various demands
Electricity board employees have warned the board management to restore the services of drivers soon. Joint action committee convenor Heera Lal Verma said that if the board management does not restore the services of outsourced drivers, such protests will continue in the coming days at the board headquarters
Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Outsource Employees Union staged a sit-in protest outside the board headquarters demanding the reinstatement of the services of 81 outsourced drivers whose services were terminated. Another protest was held outside the deputy commissioner’s office by educated unemployed youth against the guest teacher recruitment policy.
Electricity board employees have warned the board management to restore the services of drivers soon. Joint action committee convenor Heera Lal Verma said that if the board management does not restore the services of outsourced drivers, such protests will continue in the coming days at the board headquarters.
Verma said, “Apart from the reinstatement of outsourced drivers, the electricity employees have also been demanding the reinstatement of the old pension scheme for two years. But the government has not yet fulfilled their demand. Talks are going on with the officials regarding this. If the pension of the board employees is not restored soon, then we will be forced to launch a movement against this too”.
Withdraw guest teacher recruitment policy
The educated unemployed youth protested against the recent decision of the state cabinet to engage the “guest teachers” in the education department to fill gaps due to short-term vacancies in any institution and to be paid on an hourly basis. The protestors raised slogans against the government and warned of ‘gherao’ of Congress leader and MP Priyanka Gandhi if the guest teacher policy is not withdrawn.
President of the trained unemployed association Bal Krishan said, “The government should withdraw the guest teacher policy and fulfil the promise of one lakh jobs. If not done, whenever Priyanka Gandhi comes to her home in Chharabra, Shimla, the unemployed will gherao her.”
He said “During the assembly elections, Priyanka had promised to give one lakh jobs to the unemployed of the state in the first cabinet. Sukhu government has completed 2 years in power but during this time the government has been able to give permanent jobs to barely 5,000 youth.
‘Guest Teacher Policy’ will maintain continuity: CM
Meanwhile, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while chairing a review meeting of the education department, said, “Guest Teacher Policy would help in maintaining continuity in teaching and learning process,”
“In case the regular teacher of the educational institution goes on leave, the services of qualified teachers will be taken and this will also not disrupt the studies of the children,” said Sukhu.
“The government was giving special preference to impart quality education and apprise the students about their duties and responsibilities for their all-around development,” said Sukhu.
Withdraw Guest teacher policy: BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, has strongly opposed the guest teacher policy of teaching in schools on an hourly basis.
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said, “Congress party should remember the assurance given to the youth and withdraw the anti-people decision like the Guest Teacher Policy as soon as possible”.
He said that the government will not be allowed to act arbitrarily. “The government should desist from its dictatorship and withdraw the guest teacher policy as per its promise. The guest teacher policy of the Sukhu government is not only harmful for the youth but also for the students,” said Thakur.
BJP’s chief spokesperson Rakesh Jamwal said that before the elections, Congress had promised to give 5 lakh government jobs and 1 lakh jobs every year to woo the youth. The Congress government has taken the shameful step of removing 10,000 outsourced workers and ending 1.5 lakh government posts.
