Police Foil PHE Daily Wagers’ Protest March in Jammu

Jammu :,Police on Friday prevented a protest march by daily wage workers of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department as they attempted to move toward Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residence, demanding regularization and the release of pending wages.
Under the banner of the PHE Employees Union, hundreds of daily wagers, who have called for a 72-hour strike, raised slogans like “Omar Abdullah hosh mein aao”, expressing anger over the government’s inaction. As they tried to break through police barricades, security forces resorted to mild cane charges to disperse them. The protesters were stopped at Shaheedi Chowk, preventing them from marching further.
Union leaders slammed the National Conference-led government for failing to fulfill its commitments, accusing it of betraying workers despite making promises before elections. “For decades, governments have deceived us. This is yet another deception. The so-called committee is just a delaying tactic. We cannot feed our families on false assurances,” a protest leader said.
Criticizing Omar Abdullah, the protesters accused him of neglecting poor workers while approving salary hikes for MLAs and increasing their constituency development funds to Rs 4 crore. Some even demanded that legislators transfer their salaries to the PHE wage account to compensate for unpaid dues.
The Jammu and Kashmir government recently formed a six-member committee to examine issues related to the regularization of daily wagers. Earlier this week, the chief minister announced that a roadmap would be prepared for presentation in the next budget session.