Jammu: Police foil march daily wagers' march to civil secretariat

Jammu, Nov 10 (PTI) Police on Monday foiled a protest march by hundreds of daily wage employees of the Jal Shakti Department who had taken out a rally to gherao the Civil Secretariat here, demanding the regularisation of their services and the release of pending wages.

The employees reportedly shut down the water supply to several VIP areas in Jammu city, including the residences of ministers, though the supply was later restored.

The PHE Employees United Front, Jammu, urged the chief minister to table the committee report on the regularisation of daily wagers in the Assembly. This was the third protest by the union in the past fortnight over the government’s failure to release the report and formulate a regularisation policy. Earlier demonstrations were held on October 23 and 27, coinciding with the start of the Assembly session.

Amid slogans of “We want justice”, the hundreds of workers began their march from the PHE office on BC Road towards the Civil Secretariat. However, police deployed in large numbers stopped them by placing barricades and barbed wire on the route.

As the police foiled their march, the protesters then sat on a dharna for several hours, seeking the presence of the chief minister and ministers concerned to assure them of action.

“We are demanding a clear policy on regularisation, implementation of the Minimum Wages Act, and release of pending wages. We have been protesting for years, yet our issues remain unresolved,” a leader of the PHE Employees United Front (Jammu Province) said.

He alleged that successive governments had exploited daily wagers. “Essential services, whether in normal times or during crises, run because of daily wagers, but it is these workers who are always denied justice,” he told reporters.

He recalled that during the previous Assembly session, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced the formation of a committee to examine the regularisation demands. The committee, headed by the chief secretary, was to submit its report within six months, by September 19, but the workers say they have no information regarding its status.

There are an estimated 67,000 daily wage workers across various government departments in Jammu and Kashmir. PTI AB AMJ AMJ