The Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) Water Department daily wage workers, contract workers and temporary workers have launched an indefinite strike demanding regularisation of their services, here on Thursday.
The protesters took out a rally from Kadapa Maidan to the office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and submitted a memorandum to the DC, HDMC Commissioner and Chief Engineer before sitting on dharna.
They said the State government had passed an order banning the contract system in the corporation’s water department. The Labour Department too had stated that this order was applicable to the Karnataka State Water Supply Drainage Board. However, the departments had continued to hire contract workers and their services have not been regularised.
The illegal Provident Fund cut from the salary of the contract workers from April 2011 to April 2015 amounting to Rs. 1.45 crore should be repaid and job security should be given. The amount should be directly credited to the bank accounts, they said.
Due to this protest, water supply would be affected in wards 1 to 24, they said.
