There seems to be no end to the woes of residents as the fifth round of talks between the striking daily wagers in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department and the government failed to break the deadlock.
Today a delegation of the All J&K PHE, ITI-Trained and CP Workers Association, led by Tanveer Hussain, held a meeting with Minister for PHE Sukhnandan Choudhary, during which workers remained adamant on their demand alleging that the government was trying to divert the issue.
The representatives of daily wagers refused to call off their strike till the government gives in writing to start the process of regularisation of their services. Meanwhile, the drinking water supply in the major part of the city and the region remained disrupted for the second week.
“We need written, not just verbal, assurance. Every government has tried to fool us by announcing committees which do not come up with anything concrete. This time we are determined to continue our struggle till our demand is met,” said Tanveer Hussain.
There are about 26,000 casual labourers working in the department, who are an essential part of keeping the water supply system functional.
A senior official of the PHE Department said the ball was now in the court of daily wagers. “The minister has given his assurance that their issues will be solved. They should give some more time till a decision is taken and call off their strike,” the official said.
The association alleged that the government formed a high-power committee before the presentation of budget, but did not bother about the plight of casual labours and no funds had been sanctioned for the regularisation process to start.
Workers are demanding the implementation of the report submitted by a committee established by the previous National Conference (NC)-Congress coalition government in 2009 to regularise the services of those people who had worked in their respective departments since 1994.
Today a delegation of the All J&K PHE, ITI-Trained and CP Workers Association, led by Tanveer Hussain, held a meeting with Minister for PHE Sukhnandan Choudhary, during which workers remained adamant on their demand alleging that the government was trying to divert the issue.
The representatives of daily wagers refused to call off their strike till the government gives in writing to start the process of regularisation of their services. Meanwhile, the drinking water supply in the major part of the city and the region remained disrupted for the second week.
“We need written, not just verbal, assurance. Every government has tried to fool us by announcing committees which do not come up with anything concrete. This time we are determined to continue our struggle till our demand is met,” said Tanveer Hussain.
There are about 26,000 casual labourers working in the department, who are an essential part of keeping the water supply system functional.
A senior official of the PHE Department said the ball was now in the court of daily wagers. “The minister has given his assurance that their issues will be solved. They should give some more time till a decision is taken and call off their strike,” the official said.
The association alleged that the government formed a high-power committee before the presentation of budget, but did not bother about the plight of casual labours and no funds had been sanctioned for the regularisation process to start.
Workers are demanding the implementation of the report submitted by a committee established by the previous National Conference (NC)-Congress coalition government in 2009 to regularise the services of those people who had worked in their respective departments since 1994.
