Andhra Pradesh: TRANSCO contract workers demand regularisation
29 November 2019: Contract workers of Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh staged a protest at Vijaywada demanding that the State government absorb the contract employees in the electricity department and implement direct payment system for them under the aegis of the Andhra Pradesh Vidyuth Contract Employees Joint Action Committee. TRANSCO employs over 24,000 contract workers across the state.
Telangana: Road Transport Workers end strike, state to release ₹1,000 crore to TSRTC to meet workers demand
26 November 2019: Over 50,000 workers of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation returned to work after a 47-day long successful strike after the High Court of Telangana ordered the Labour Department to resolve the dispute between the Union and TSRTC. TSRTC Joint Action Committee had filed a plea with the National Human Rights Commission against the violation of human rights of the striking workers which led to 4 workers committing suicide.
Road transport workers had gone on strike on 5 October 2019 pressing 26 point demands. State government has allocated ₹1,000 crore to meet the demands of the workers.
Haryana: Retrenched contract automotive workers from Manesar Industrial belt march to the Mini Secretariat, demand reinstatement
22 November 2019: Over 3,000 workers from the Manesar Industrial belt marched from IMT, Manesar to Mini Secretariat in Gurgaon demanding reinstatement of the workers terminated by Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) and other auto parts manufacturing units in Gurgaon.
HMSI terminated the services of over 700 contract workers on 11 August 2019 citing production cuts due to economic slowdown. It further terminated services of 650 workers on 11 November 2019 after which the remaining workers started a sit-in protest within the factory. The protest grew strong and permanent workers joined contract workers in their demand of reinstatement of the terminated workers or a compensation of ₹1 Lakh for each year of service, per worker. To stifle the protests management has suspended all production activities at the Manesar plant and went on a lock-out since 16 November 2019.
Assam: Mid-day meal workers protest against privatisation of scheme
21 November 2019: Mid-day meal workers marched to the secretariat in Guwahati against government’s decision to privatise kitchens and outsource cooking services to NGOs. Assam employs over 2,000 workers for cooking mid-day meals.
Gujarat: Textile workers forced back to work after a week of protest for wage hike
14 November 2019: Workers from over 700 power loom units from across 14 industrial areas in Surat went on strike on 7 November 2019 demanding revision of wages after food rates were hiked for the second time within 6 months across canteens in the industrial belt. The 7-day long strike was brutally suppressed by the Police and workers in the Kim, Pipodara and Diamondnagar area in Laskana were forced to join work on 14 November 2019 under heavy police deployment.
Telangana: ESI contract workers protest against non-payment of wages
13 November 2019: Contract workers of the Employees State Insurance Hospitals in Telangana went on strike on 13 November 2019 under the banner of Telangana Medical Contract Employees and Workers’ Union (TMCEWU) against non-payment of wages for the last eight months. Safai Karmcharis working in dispensary clinics have not been paid wages for the past eight months, and the paramedical team – staff nurses, ward staff, security staff and sweepers – across the seven ESI hospitals in the state have not received their wages for the past six months. ESI employs over 1,000 contract workers across the state.
Tamil Nadu: TANGEDCO contract workers demand regularisation and equal pay for equal work
05 November 2019: Contract workers of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation went on strike on 5 November 2019 demanding field assistant post for those who joined the service before 1998, daily wages of ₹380 for workers who joined before 2008 and preferences without any tests for gangmen posts for workers who joined after 2008 along with wage revision for all contract workers to bring it at par with the monthly wages of permanent workers performing similar jobs. Contract workers have been in service for over 12 years and have been forced to work at minimum wages while over 2,000 positions remain vacant in the Corporation.
