Tarigami leads protest for minimum wages, regularisation of casual workers

CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Monday led a protest in Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital to mark International Labour Day, demanding the implementation of the Minimum Wages Act in letter and spirit while abolishing the contractual system of employment.

He alleged that contractual and daily wage employees in the Integrated Child Development Scheme and the National Health Mission were deprived of basic minimum wages.

"Our demand is that minimum fixed wages be given to every worker as set by the labour conference," Tarigami told reporters after the protest at Residency Road here.

The Left leader said Kashmir has a history of struggles against labour exploitation. "In Zaldagar Kashmir, labourers had protested for their rights even before the May Day protests in Chicago in 1886. Workers here had fought against the taxes imposed by the then government," he added.