GP employees demand regularisation, payment of minimum wage

Members of Karnataka Gram Panchayat Employees Federation today staged an agitation demanding regularisation of their services on the lines of BBMP Pourakarmikas. They took out a massive rally from City Railway station to Freedom Park where they held an agitation. Addressing the agitators, Federation State President H K Ramachandrappa alleged that 5,653 Gram Panchayat employees were deprived of even minimum wages which is a must as per Labour Law.

He urged the State Government to make them permanent on the lines regularisation of 10,000 Pourakarmikas and pay the minimum wages. The scavengers, Bill Collectors, Servants, Data Entry Operators and others in Gram Panchayats were employed under Section 112 and 113 and they were responsible for maintaining hygine in villages, supply of drinking water and attend to electricity supply round the clock. But there is no service gaurantee for their job and were deprived of equal pay for equal work, Ramachandrappa said.

Mr Ramachandrappa alleged that the State government has entrusted the responsibility of payment of salaries to Gram Panchayats but they were not paid salary since the last 15 months and officials state that the delay is due to financial constraint. Federation Secretary N Shivanna, speaking on the occasion, urged that the henceforth the salary should be directly paid by the State government and not by the Gram Panchayats and all employees should be considered as Government employees and the service of scavengers should be made permanent.