Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], September 28 (ANI): Outsourced and temporary employees of Class IV working in various government departments in Madhya Pradesh staged a protest near the BJP office in Bhopal on Monday, demanding payment of minimum wages and regularisation of their services.
The employees, including part-time Class IV workers, cooks, peons, sanitation workers, watchmen and pump operators working in schools, hostels and ashrams under the School Education and Tribal Affairs departments, are observing a two-day protest on September 28 and 29 in the state capital.
The protesting employees alleged that despite working for more than two decades, many of them are being paid between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 per month.
Vasudev Sharma, state president of the Temporary Outsourced Employees Front, alleged that the government had not recruited Class IV employees in government offices for the last 20-25 years and was instead getting the work done through temporary employees.
“These include part-time employees working in schools and hostels, cooks, peons, sanitation workers, panchayat watchmen and pump operators. These are the people who work the most in government offices. They reach at around 10 am and leave at around 8 pm, but some are paid Rs 2,500, some Rs 3,000 and some Rs 5,000. These workers perform various duties, including maintaining cleanliness in government offices and assisting people visiting the offices, but continue to receive very low wages,” Sharma said.
He also claimed that workers engaged in panchayats sometimes do not receive even their Rs 2,500 payment for years, while part-time employees, cooks, peons and sanitation workers in schools and hostels allegedly remain unpaid for four to five months.
“It is a big irony that the government has ended all the Class IV jobs and is getting the work done for free,” Sharma said, adding that the workers were facing severe financial difficulties.
He added that the employees had gathered in Bhopal to hold a hunger strike and would continue their protest until the government announced implementation of the minimum wage of Rs 12,500, which they claimed had been fixed by the government.
“We are sitting here on a hunger strike. We will remain here until the government announces that it will implement its minimum wage law and pay these workers the minimum wage of Rs 12,500,” Sharma said. (ANI)
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