Thousands of contractual workers of Uttarakhand Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam limited (UPNl) resorted to boycott work on Monday affecting many departments of State Government.  The association of the UPNl workers has given a call for indefinite strike in support of its many demands. One of the major demands of the association is the regularisations of the contractual workers deployed under UPNl.

large number of UPNl workers assembled at the agitation site in Parade Ground on the day and organised a sit in. Addressing the workers the State President of the UPNl workers, Bhavesh Jaguri said that the then Minister of UPNl, had in 2014 declared in the State Assembly that no worker would be removed and the UPNl workers would be absorbed in the departments they are working on contract but the declaration is still unfulfilled.

The association of UPNl workers is blaming the state government for not keeping its word and misleading the contractual workers. They site recent decision of the State Government to start recruitment from staff selection commission for the posts in which the contractual UPNl workers are employed as one such misleading act of government.

The speakers on the occasion demanded increase in salaries and job regularisation and threatened to intensify their agitation. The association is also planning to organise Marches to State Secretariat and Chief Minister’s residence soon.

Meanwhile the State Chief Minister Harish Rawat said that the state government is committed to welfare of the UPNl workers. He said that it was his government which increased the salary of UPNl workers and added that the Government is planning to streamline the selection process by inculcating reservations under the norms of recruitment in UPNl.