INTUC thanks Cong MLA for taking up JCT issue in House

The INTUC union has expressed gratitude to Congress MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal for raising the issue of workers' exploitation by the owners of JCT Mills in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. A delegation from the union, led by branch president Dharmendra and Sharad Anand Singh, met MLA Dhaliwal at his residence today to thank him for his support.

The union officials emphasised that this was the first time that their concerns have been raised strongly in the Assembly. Dharmendra pointed out that although leaders from various political parties have expressed solidarity with the workers, none of them took the initiative to take up the issue with the government. He praised MLA Dhaliwal for taking concrete steps and voicing their plight in the legislative proceedings.

In his statement during the Question Hour in the Punjab Assembly on Friday, MLA Dhaliwal brought up the issue of JCT Mills, alleging that the owners had illegally shut down the mills for two years without prior notice, leaving nearly 5,000 workers from Phagwara and Hoshiarpur struggling. He also accused the mill owners of failing to pay outstanding wages and neglecting to deposit the workers' provident fund contributions, even though they had been deducted.

Additionally, Dhaliwal raised concerns about the workers' health, revealing that eight workers had died due to lack of treatment as their ESI (Employee State Insurance) claims were not processed. Despite five FIRs being filed against the mill owners, no arrests have been made.