Water supply, sanitation contract workers to protest in Mohali against privatisation

Surinder Bhardwaj

Fatehgarh Sahib, June 23

The meeting of the Water Supply and Sanitation Contract Workers Union was held under the chairmanship of Gurwinder Singh here today. A large number of workers from various districts attended the meeting and discussed the preparations being made for the state-level sit-in in front of the department’s head office in Mohali.

Addressing the mediapersons, union’s district president Gurwinder Singh Panjoli said that the Water Supply and Sanitation Contract Workers along with their families will stage a state-level dharna in front of the head office in Mohali on June 27 in support of their demands. He said that they will gherao Cabinet Minister Brahm Shankar Jimpa, wherever he makes a visit here. Panjoli said that the union will also launch agitation against the ‘panchayatisation/privatisation’ of rural water supply schemes and the implementation of policies depriving enlisted/outsourced workers working on the rural water supply scheme for the last 15-20 years. He said that whenever department officials, representatives of the World Bank visit the villages to implement the policies of panchayatisation/privatisation, the unions will oppose them with black flags to save this government department from being privatised. The need of the hour is that the poor and middle-class people should get drinking water, but the government is trying to implement anti-people policies, he said.

He demanded that privatisation of rural water supply schemes should be stopped and outsourced employees should be confirmed. He alleged that wages are not being released to the workers on time, due to which the employees are facing a lot of financial problems. He said that the officials had assured that the salary would be released by June 5, but except for one or two blocks, the salary of no other block has been released.