Over 500 workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and members of All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate on Monday pressing for a 28-point charter of demands.
The protest was led by AIAWU state president and former MLA A. Lazar.
A few representatives submitted their petitions that included demands to increase their working days from 100 to 200, to pay ₹5,000 as pension for people above the age of 55 and ₹21,000 as salary to conservancy workers.
The protestors raised slogans to provide rice and vegetable at free of cost through Public Distribution Systems, to assign surplus lands to the poor under provisions of Land Reformation Act.
They also called for the State government to fix a Minimum Support Price for agricultural produce and to create a separate Welfare Board for farmers.
They wanted the State to provide free house pattas to build houses at a cost of ₹5 lakh each for people below the poverty line.
They demanded the Union government to withdraw the Electricity (Amendment) Bill of 2021 and to register unorganised workers in rural areas with the e-Shram card.
The protestors who requested the police to stage the demonstration on the Collectorate premises were stalled as District Superintendent of Police V. Baskaran held talks with them.
AIAWU district secretary K. Arulselvan and others were present.
