Banihal, Jan 2: Daily wagers working in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department staged protest demonstrations in Banihal on Friday, demanding their regularisation. As part of the protest, the daily wagers submitted memoranda to their respective Member of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), urging him to raise the issue on priority in the forthcoming Assembly session.
The protest was organised under the banner of Bharat Mazdoor Sangh, following directions from the Jammu and Kashmir PHE Daily Wagers Association headquarters in Jammu. The association had appealed to all PHE daily wagers to approach their local MLAs and press for a concrete policy on regularisation.
Representatives of the PHE daily wagers, including General Secretary Rehmatullah Zohda, Nazir Ahmad Tantray, Ghulam Nabi Naik, Mohammad Rafiq Goolvi, and Bharat Mazdoor Sangh District Ramban President Imtiaz Ahmad Sahil, said that if a regularisation policy is not framed and taken up in the upcoming Assembly session, all PHE daily wagers would resort to an indefinite strike.
They further alleged that several daily wagers have retired without receiving proper wages, while some lost their lives during service, yet no relief or assistance was provided. Expressing resentment, they said that while MLAs approved hikes in their own salaries without delay, the issue of PHE daily wagers continues to be ignored by those in power.