UT Government denies genuine demands of daily wagers, claims Som

The Jal Shakti (PHE) Employees and Workers Association has accused the UT Government of ignoring the genuine demands of daily wagers in Jammu and Kashmir. Association president and senior trade union leader, Som Nath, has criticized the UT Administration for violating the Minimum Wages Act and failing to release pending wages of daily wagers for six years between 2014 and 2020. He alleged that the UT Government was not framing the policy of regularization under SRO 64 and that funds released by the Central Government were not used to clear pending liabilities, causing poor workers to face starvation. Nath demanded that CP/ITI/Land case workers be regularized, that minimum wages be given according to Delhi UT’s rate, and that the government clear all pending wages of workers, as per the Minimum Wages Act. He further called for regularizations of workers who have completed at least seven years of service without further delay, and for the conduct of DPCs at provincial and divisional levels. Nath also drew attention to the shortage of staff, calling for workers to be engaged per norms so that work can run smoothly and properly. He appealed to the Deputy Commissioner to not adopt a transfer policy for Class IV employees, as there is an acute shortage of workers in the department.