J&K Casual Labourers Front (J&KCLF) is mulling to gherao civil secretariat here on the opening of the Move offices on November 9 to protest government inaction on their demand for regularization of their services.
“It is very unfortunate that the government has not taken any serious review regarding regularization of our services. We are 61,000 casual labourers and daily wagers working in different departments from over 25 years,” said Front’s provincial President for Kashmir, Imran Parrey.
He said they have worked in several departments since 1995-96 when militancy was at the peak and people were not ready to serve the government.
“More than 10 labourers have committed suicide in Kashmir and many others have lost their lives while on duty. Their families were not given any financial support or job by the government,” he said.
Parrey said they have been serving the departments with minimum wages which too was not being paid to them on time.
“We put our lives at risk and run the government schemes. Over 10,000 labourers have donated their land to different government departments at prime locations and still they have not been provided jobs,” said provincial President, Jammu, Tanveer Hussain.
Hussain said they are holding meetings with the labourers across Kashmir and Jammu. “On October 20, we are going to organise a protest at Srinagar and on October 22 in Ganderbal to chalk out future course of action,” he said.
He said in Srinagar, they will hold demonstrations in support of casual labourers of the Tourism department whose wages have not been released for the last six years.