PWD union stages dharna for demands

SURAT, June 29: Members owing allegiance to the Public Works Department Employees Union staged a day-long dharna in front of the District Collectorate on Monday in protest against their various demands. They also submitted a memorandum to the collector in the context. The union is demanding better wages for the lower grade employees. The members will also hold a dharna outside the collector’s office in Valsad on Tuesday and outside the Dangs district collectorate on Wednesday, leaders said here on Monday.

Among the employees, who staged the dharna, were regularised workers of the irrigation, roads and buildings, forest and fisheries departments of the state government. Sayyed Ibrahim, president of the union, alleged that while class I and II employees of these departments had been given appropriate pay scale hikes, the class III and IV employees were not given any benefit. He added that employees of the above mentioned departments had been working for many years at the Ukai, Kelia, Madhuvan, Kakarapar, Narmada and Amli dams and still were being neglected by the government. He demanded an appropriate increase in the wages of these employees with effect from January 1, 1996 in all the mentioned departments.

Spelling out the further course of action, if the government failed to comply with their demands, union leaders stated that they would boycott duties and resort to serious means of protest if their demands were not fulfilled. The leaders also criticised the state government for what they termed as “step motherly” attitude towards the lower grade workers in deciding pay scales of regularised employees of the government.