Protest in Dharamshala against Central, state govts’ policies by Himachal Pradesh United Trade Union Joint Struggle Committee
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The Newz Radar
Dharamshala: A protest rally was organized against the Central and state governments in Dharamshala by the Himachal Pradesh United Trade Union Joint Struggle Committee.
Led by its state president Prem chand Chaudhary, state secretary Ravindra Singh Ravi, and district president Sanjay Saini of the INTUC, hundreds of construction workers marched from the bus stand to the DC office on Wednesday.
They said that the Union government has ceased the registration of construction workers who work for 50 days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the Labour Welfare Board.
However, as soon as the Congress government came into power in the state, they stopped the registration of all construction workers, depriving 5 lakh registered workers of their benefits. Additionally, 1,31,000 claims have been pending with the board for the past 3 years, and they are being ignored.
Despite having over Rs 700 crores in funds, which come from the Labour Cess Act and are directly deposited into the board’s account, the poor workers are being denied their legal rights. There are violations of the law regarding building and other construction workers.
Board officials have no knowledge of the law. The advice of the Law Department is not being heeded. There are violations of Supreme Court orders.
The money of the workers lying in the board was spent by the previous government on its vested interests. Now, this government is also spending the labour fund on its advertisements. Officials are roaming around in board vehicles. Board officials are indulged in revelry, while 95 per cent of the funds meant for construction workers are being wasted.
After the protest march, a memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister through the DC.
