Srinagar cops detain contractual workers protesting for regularisation
Protesters said some of them had been working for over two decades and yet, their jobs were not regularised
Scores of daily wage labourers and contractual employees from government departments were detained by police in Srinagar on Monday during a protest seeking regularisation.
The employees, who attempting to gather at Press Colony in city centre Lal Chowk, were dispersed by police.
Protesters said some of them had been working for over two decades and yet, their jobs were not regularised.
“We are fed up with holding these protests day in and day out. We request the authorities to settle our issues. We are finding it difficult to take care of our families and are not able to pay for our parents’ medicines or the school fees of our children,” said one of the protesters.
He said that there are around 61,000 daily wage worker, contractual labourers and seasonal labourers have been seeking regularisation for years.
“We don’t want to come out on roads. Government should do justice to us and solve our issues once and for all,” the protester added, requesting not to be named.
Another protester pointed out that the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government, which won the assembly elections last year, had promised regularisation in its manifesto but has not done anything.
“Did we vote for Omar to get humiliated on roads like this? Why isn’t the elected government taking any action in our matter,” the protester said.
Expressing serious concern over administration’s ‘failure’ to fulfill its promise, Communist Party of India (CPI Marxist) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said the poor workers were already suffering due to the non-payment of wages for months.
“Thousands of daily-wagers and casual labourers involved in implementing government policies and keeping essential services running are being deprived of their rights by the government,” he said.