Naxalbari, 09th October: VRP and VLP workers joined a work stoppage and staged a protest outside the Naxalbari Block Development Officer’s office on Thursday, demanding permanent status and equal pay for equal work. Similar protests were held across West Bengal.
The workers alleged that they had submitted a memorandum at the Panchayat Department office in Kolkata on September 25, demanding permanent status and equal pay for equal work by October 7. However, their demands have yet to be fulfilled.
Placing their trust in the new government in the state, the workers appealed for their demands to be addressed at the earliest.
They further claimed that they had been working under the MGNREGA scheme for the past 18 years. Apart from carrying out various development works under the previous government, they alleged that they are now also required to work on projects under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Annapurna Bhandar and the 125-day VB-G RAM G scheme.
Despite around 8,000 workers across the state being involved, the workers alleged that no concrete steps had been taken to address their concerns. They also claimed that the state budget offered no clear direction regarding their demands.
The workers warned that they would launch a movement across the Siliguri subdivision in the coming days if their demands were not met.
