IMPHAL, June 27: The Adhoc Committee of All Manipur Forest Department Employee’s and Workers Union (AMFDEWU) will intensify the agitation from June 30, stated the union’s spokesperson Sanabakumar on Friday.
Speaking to the media on the sideline of the sit in protest staged by the union, he said the union has been demanding regularisation of casual workers of the Forest department.
He said the union had earlier imposed a cease work strike from June 1 to 7, last year following which an understanding was brought between the union and the government.
The government had assured to upgrade the casual workers as contract employees, however, even after a year has passed; the State cabinet is yet to take any positive action.
He said even though casual workers cannot be absorbed as regularised employees according to the norms, it can be done so if they are inducted as contract employees first, he continued.
“As such we have been waiting for induction as contract employees,” he said.
Even though most of the casual workers have been serving the department for more than 25 years, the government has failed to listen to their grievances, which compelled them to take up the cease work strike since June 25, he said.
The Langol Reserve Forest, Keibul Lamjao, Zoological Garden to name some are run and maintained by the casual workers at a very low salary, added S Kumar.
Over and above there is 377 post vacancies in the Forest department, he asserted while adding that there are only 266 casual workers who are demanding absorption in the department as contractual workers and be regularise afterward.