Dehradun : Demanding regularization and equal pay for equal work, Upanal employees of all departments of the state had marched to the Secretariat last Monday. Angry Upanal employees started from the parade ground and tried to reach the Secretariat via Bhawan Chowk, Convent Chowk, Lansdowne Chowk and Kanak Chowk, but the police stopped them by placing barricades on Subhash Road.
After being stopped before the Secretariat, the workers started shouting slogans and sat on strike. Police later sent all the agitating workers to the Ekta Vihar protest site. At the same time, after talks with the Chief Secretary, this strike was temporarily postponed late in the night.
Doon hospital services disrupted
Hospital services were also affected due to the participation of more than 200 Upanal employees from Doon Medical College in the secretariat march. Due to the participation of computer operators, lab technicians, X-ray technicians, nursing staff, ward boys and sanitation workers in the protest, the patients had to face difficulties in making the prescriptions.
Main demands of Upanal employees
Vinod Godiyal, state convenor of Upanal Employees United Front, said that in 2018, the Nainital High Court had given the verdict in favor of Upanal employees on equal pay and regularization. Despite this, the state government did not implement this decision and filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court, which was rejected by the Supreme Court. Despite this, the government has not implemented the court order and is preparing to file SLP once again.
Government ignoring the court’s decision
Local 18 spoke to State Vice President of Upanal Employees Federation, Shyamlal Koli and State General Secretary Dishant Pundir. During this, both of them appeared angry with the state government regarding their demands. He said that when the Supreme Court has given its decision then what problem does the government have in accepting it. We won in the High Court in 2018 and the Supreme Court ruled in our favor in 2024. Despite this, the state government is still procrastinating. Our only demand is regularization and equal pay for equal work. But the government is ignoring it.
Reference was made to the election code of conduct.
It is noteworthy that about 22,000 Upanal employees in the state have been struggling for their demands for a long time. If their demands are not met, the workers have again warned of going on strike. Last Monday, citing the election code of conduct, the government had called the officials of the organization for talks on 25th November. After this the strike was postponed late at night.
Tags: Dehradun news, Local18, Uttarakhand news
FIRST PUBLISHED : November 12, 2024, 3:53 PM IST
