Bhartiya Coal Khan Mazdoor Union, Moughla Kalakote held a rally of coal khan workers which was attended by hundreds of people in the area. With red flags in their hands, the workers raised slogans urging the government to fulfill their long pending demands.While addressing the rally Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, President, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, J&K(CITU) and MLA said that the neo-liberal economic policies implemented since 90s have broken the back of the working class and down-trodden people across the country the net result of these policies have led to hundreds of thousands of farmers/peasants committing suicide as they are not in a position to liquidate their loans raised from financial institutions/money lenders, he added that government must come to the rescue of the affected and vulnerable sections of the people and announce some pro-people programmes to provide some relief and succor to them. Curtailing subsidies on the pretext of managing fiscal deficit seems absurd as the same dispensation provides incentives to the corporate and business houses in the form of tax foregone/concessions.
Working inside coal mines is both health hazardous and risky, as such, the government and the management must come forward to fulfill their long pending legitimate and genuine demands which include regularization of casual labourers working for more than 15 years, he urged that these workers should be brought under the ambit of Skilled Category for payment of wages notified under Minimum Wages Act by the State Government.In his address Om Prakash General Secretary, CITU demanded that JK Minerals Ltd. should be merged with Geology and Mining department as the former lacks adequate mining engineers, qualified mining man-power and machinery as a result of which the organization has not been running/functioning properly. He also exhorted the workers to fight unitedly to get their legitimate and genuine demands/ problems resolved. Demanding that D.A. due @ 6% from July, 2015 and another 6% from January, 2016 be released in favour of the employees, he urged the government to release the pending COLA arrears in favour of the employees of the organization without any further delay.Among others, S/ Rajesh Gupta, Working President of Bhartiya Coal Khan Mazdoor Union, Ramesh Chander, President, Santoo Prashad, Secretary, and Mohd.Gafoor, Vice President also addressed the rally. (KNS)