JK BJP president meets Lt Guv, demands redressal of issues of workers of various depts

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Thursday called on Lt Governor G C Murmu here and requested him for early redressal of the long pending issues of workers of various departments.

Accompanied by former minister Shakti Raj Parihar, the BJP leader submitted a two-page letter to the Lt governor suggesting constitution of a high-powered committee of officers to look into the demands of the striking workers, a BJP spokesman said.

Public Health Engineering (PHE) workers are on strike since February 7 in support of their various demands including release of pending wages and regularization of their services.

The strike by the workers has resulted in drinking water scarcity in the city and elsewhere.

"The constitution of a high-powered committee will give a healthy signal to all these hard pressed staff of the government who are working as daily rated workers and casual workers," the BJP leader said in the letter.

Demanding the release of pay and arrears of the workers, Raina said notwithstanding the fact that the department is utilising their services to their fullest capacity but yet has not been paying their wages for many years.

Raina said the daily rated, ITI trained, need based and CP workers of the PHE, the Power Development Department and the Public Workers Department are regularly attending their duties and their attendance is marked through the biometric system.

"Bio data of these workers has been since long back compiled and put online as well," he said, adding they and their families have been reduced to the "state of penury and starvation by the callous and heartless attitude of the concerned authorities".

The BJP leader also requested the Lt governor to continue the services of para-medical staff engaged under SRO 384 in government medical colleges in Jammu and Srinagar besides requesting for early redressal of the long pending issues of the National Health Mission employees, the spokesman said.

He also urged Murmu to do justice with the employees recruited under SRO 202, a government order of 2015 under which the appointees in the government service get only basic pay for the first five years of their service.

The Lt governor assured the BJP president that all the concerns raised by him would be addressed at the earliest, the spokesman said.