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| Families of thousands of daily wagers in distress | | Is insensitive Govt guilty of HR violations? | | Abodh Sharma
Jammu, Nov 24: Death of a PHE daily wager in Jammu earlier this month gave an insight into the plight of the daily wagers in different departments of the state government, but a fortnight after the death of young Naresh Gupta, insensitive government has not taken any cognizance of the woes of huge work force which it refuses to technically accept as its 'employees'.
By not paying paltry salaries to its daily wagers, need based workers and contractual workers engaged in various departments for months, state government has inadvertently been committing human rights violations of worst kind as many a families of these workers who have no other sources for sustenance are forced to live in sub human conditions and the champions of Human Rights have also conveniently refused to spare a thought for them.
While most administrative departments have adopted casual approach towards regularization of daily wagers who have put in long years in service despite a legislation that calls for regularization of all such employees who have put in over seven years as daily wager, government has withheld their meager salaries for months together. Naresh Gupta, the PHE daily wager who died on November 14 had reportedly not been paid his paltry salary for more than a year, putting his family under deep trauma and stress. There are 13000 such daily wagers in PHE alone who have been sharing Naresh's fate.
The problem has not been confined to the PHE alone, as daily wagers of PDD and PWD have also been facing the same fate. Daily wagers of PDD also have been protesting time and again seeking regularization of services and this despite the fact that over 350 daily wagers have lost their lives while performing duties since 1994 but the state government has not yet come with the concrete solution to their long pending demands.
These daily wagers and their families have been forced to live difficult lives. Makholi Ram, a daily wager in the PWD for the last 18 years is quickly giving up to the circumstances. Eventhough his services should have been regularized long back; insensitive babus have slept over his file. "I had to discontinue the education of my three daughters and now I am finding it hard to manage two square meals for them" he said, grief and distress written large on his face. "I work as a collie at a ration depot in the evenings and wash utensils at marriage parties in a nearby banquet hall" he added, exposing how a numb and indifferent government and administration have been affecting thousands of lives of its citizens.
While these poor families might not have means and resources to seek legal recourse for their miseries triggered by government's indifference, many a social, political and apolitical organization can come to their rescue to get their bare minimum dues delivered to them. |
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