Daily-rated workers working in different departments Thursday continued the protest demonstration to demand regularization of their jobs.
These daily-rated workers held protest demonstrations at tehsil and district headquarters across Jammu and Kashmir for the second consecutive day.
“We demand regularization of our services. Most of us have been working on meager wages for the past 20 years,” said Ajaz Ahmad, a protestor at Srinagar.
The daily wagers have opposed referring of Class-IV posts to recruitment agency, saying they have the first right to be regularized against these vacant posts.
Chairman J&K Casual Daily Forum Sajad Parray said protests were a medium to seek attention of the government towards their plight, grievances and demands.
“Our voices have remained unheard for decades now. It is high time for authorities to deliver justice to more than 60,000 daily-rated works and their families,” he said.
He said the government announcement to give weightage of additional five marks to them during recruitment of Class-IV posts was a “cruel joke” with them.
“The plight of daily-rated workers has been ignored and there is no word for fast tracking regularization of our services,” he said.
He said referring Class-IV vacant posts to recruitment agency “amounts to snatching our livelihood.”
He said all daily-rated workers have been working against meager wages with hope that they would be regularized on the vacant posts.
Recently, the government accorded sanction to constitution of the committee to identify the vacancies for being filled on immediate basis with priority to Class-IV vacancies.
Parray said most of the daily wagers have crossed upper age limit for government jobs. He urged the government to regularize the services of daily-rated workers engaged since 1994.
On Wednesday, social media was abuzz with pictures of children of daily-rated workers holding placards, appealing Lieutenant Governor, GC Murmu to regularize services of their parents.
The placards they were holding read: “LG Sir, regularize service of my father and save our future; LG Sir, is it a sin to be a child of daily wager, we don’t have sufficient food to eat at home.”
J&K Casual Daily Forum had announced to hold symbolic protest today to press for their demands.