Srinagar, Sept 22 — Casual labourers and daily wage workers in various departments of Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday staged a protest in Srinagar demanding wage hike and regularisation.
Casual and daily-wage workers from different government departments have staged a protest in Srinagar, demanding enhancement of wages and regularisation of their services during the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly session.
The protest was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Casual/Daily Wagers Forum and was led by its President Sajad Ahmed Parray.
The protesting workers said their demands for regularisation and better wages had remained unresolved for a long time and urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to take concrete steps to address their concerns.
The demonstration was held as the Legislative Assembly is discussing issues concerning temporary and daily-wage workers, with the Jammu and Kashmir government having informed the House that it is examining a uniform framework for regularisation of temporary workers, including daily-rated workers, casual and seasonal labourers and other contractual and need-based employees.
The Union Territory government has said a committee constituted in March 2025 is examining the humanitarian, legal and financial aspects of regularising such workers and that consultations with concerned departments are required before a final policy decision is taken.
The workers urged the Union Territory government to expedite the process and provide them relief on the issues of wages and regularisation.
The protest remained focused on their long-pending employment-related demands.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has assured phased regularisation of all daily wagers in the Union Territory.
According to the available statistics, there are more than 50,000 daily wagers working in various departments across the Union Territory.
Ground reports in fact suggest that the major workload in these departments is shared by the daily wagers.
Without the services of the daily wagers, many departments like the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Flood and Irrigation Department, Power Development Department (PDD), etc. would be completely handicapped without these workers.