Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh workers hold protest, block traffic in Shimla for pay hike

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 29

Traffic remained disrupted here as Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) activists held rallies and staged a protest outside the Secretariat to press for their demands. The workers blocked roads and commuters had to change route and drive five to 10 km extra to reach their destinations.

The police pushed away demonstrators and stopped them from entering the Secretariat. BMS leaders claimed that their two leaders were injured in the scuffle. The traffic remained disrupted for nearly five hours and the situation normalised only after the protest was called off and workers dispersed.

Their main demands included minimum wage of Rs 18,000 per month to all workers in organised and unorganised sector, 3 per cent annual increment, allowing all types of holidays, framing policy for regularisation of ASHA workers and outsourced employees in government departments and public sector undertakings.

General secretary of the BMS Yash Pal Heta said the demands of all sections of workers had been raised and urged the government to accept these at the earliest.

He said the benefit of increment after 4, 9 and 14 years of service should be given to employees and industrial workers with more than 10 years of service be brought under the Wage Board.

Some other demands of the BMS were the immediate implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, increasing retirement age from 58 to 60 years, restoration of Old Pension Scheme, reinstatement of workers retrenched by industrial houses, 100 per cent increase in bonus and creation of post of Additional Labour Commissioner.