Accusing the J&K administration of ignoring 60,000 temporary employees working in different government departments, J&K Casual and Daily Wagers Forum (JKCDWF) on Thursday demanded regularization of their services.
The forum said that if its demand was not fulfill they will be forced to hit the streets and protest to save the future of their families.
“The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has recently constituted a four-member committee headed by the Principal Secretary to Government Agriculture and horticulture department to identify the vacancies of Class IV employees in various departments,” J&K Casual and Daily Wagers Forum President Sajad Ahmad Parray said in a press conference here on Thursday.
However, he said by doing so, the government has ignored the 60,000 temporary employees already working in different departments. “These temporary employees, who includes Daily wagers, casual labourers ,CP workers, ITI casual labours, land donors EV'S, Seasonal labours and all temporary workers, have been working since 1994 with utmost honesty and dedication,” he said.
Mr Parray said even today, when the whole world is battling a deadly disease like COVID-19, these temporary employees are engaged in public service risking their lives. “The temporary employees have been waiting for regularization from the last 22 years and today, when the time has come to become permanent employee, the government is trying to snatch our source of earning bread and butter by referring these posts to SSB,” he said.
He said such order will not be tolerated under any circumstances. “It is important to clarify that we are not against the recruitment process, but the right to regularization belongs to the existing 60,000 temporary employees in the first instance,” he said.
He said in case the government ignores their legitimate demands, they can go to any lengths to get their legitimate right. “We want to remind the government that the Prime Minister had said that temporary employees in Jammu and Kashmir will be given their due right under the minimum wages act,” he said.
He said it has been ten months since then, but nothing has been done. “We want to make it clear that the issue of regularization is a matter of life and death for us and our families,” he said.
Therefore, he said the forum requests the government to withdraw the Govt Order No 559-JK(GAD)of 2020 dated 14-05-2020 and issue orders for regularization in favour of temporary employees.