Workers protest govt’s ‘apathy’ on Labour Day

Tribune News Service
Patiala, May 1

Aggrieved by the government’s attitude during the corona lockdown, labourers in Nabha today protested on the occasion of the Labour Day. Labourers, mostly daily wagers, clanked their tools as mark of the protest. They donned placards, which read “stray animals”. They rued that labourers were being treated like stray animals during the corona lockdown.

Protesters said the government had failed to address the issues of labourers. “During the lockdown, majority of daily wagers in Nabha received no ration or any other help from the government,” said Lakhvir Singh, a protester from Kansuha village.

“There are more than 20 lakh construction workers in Punjab. However, the government has registered only three lakh workers. The government has announced one-time relief of Rs 6,000 for registered workers. What about non-registered labourers? They are also human beings,” said Kulwinder Kaur of Thuhi village.

“Under MGNREGA, we don’t get guaranteed 100-day employment. Nor do we get unemployment allowance mandated by the law,” said Sunita of Kaidupur village. “Even our payments against the past work are still pending,” she added. The protesters mourned deaths of migrant labourers, who died walking back to their homes. They also raised slogans against spray of sanitising chemicals on migrant workers in UP.

In the wake of giving communal colour to corona, they said Muslim daily wagers suffered the most.