SHEFALI CHATURVEDI
Ranchi, Sept 20: Workers working as ANM, GNM, lab technician, pharmacist and X-ray technician went on strike in front of Nepal House. It has been more than a decade while working on contracts with these workers. On Monday these workers from all the 24 districts went on strike under the banner of the Contractual Workers Federation. Strikers were very angry and their words were against the government while striking.
“While working throughout the covid-19 scenario, the government attitude towards us is unpredictable. We applied to meet the chief minister at least ten times but all went in vain. Our demand for ‘equal pay for equal work’ and ‘regularization’ was also not heard. At last, we came here for a strike. We are forced to work on a very small amount of Rs-15465. Our situation has become worse and the future of our children is in darkness,” said Meera Kumari (Regional Federation President)
“We worked for all the seven days during the pandemic, our colleagues died while fighting with the pandemic but the government’s behavior towards us is unpredictable. The government has come up to exploit us. Government changes but none of the government came to change our fate,” said Vinita Kumari (Joint Secretary of the federation). She also added that before coming into power CM Hemant Soren told us that he will work on the demands of ‘contractual workers’, but more than one and half years have passed without a single decision.