CITU protest turns tense, 32 leaders detained

Tirupati: Tense moments prevailed near the Tirupati district Collectorate on Thursday after a scuffle broke out between police and CITU leaders when a rally of contract and outsourcing workers was stopped. Police arrested 32 protesters and shifted them to Tiruchanoor police station.

The workers had taken out the rally after completing a 40-day minimum wage campaign across Tirupati district. They demanded a minimum monthly wage of Rs 26,000, saying that both the Central and State governments had not revised the salaries of contract and outsourcing workers for nearly two decades despite rising living costs. They also sought regularisation of their services.

Those arrested included CITU State vice-president Kandarapu Murali, CITU Tirupati district president S Jayachandra, district secretary T Subramanyam, and district leaders of people’s organisations, including Vandavasi Nagaraju and Angeri Pullayya, among others.

Addressing the gathering before the march to the Collectorate, CITU State vice-president Kandarapu Murali alleged that the coalition government in the State had betrayed workers by implementing the four labour codes. He said rising prices had made it difficult for workers to meet their daily expenses with their existing wages.

Murali also said the government’s promise to regularise three lakh contract and outsourcing workers in the State had not been implemented. He criticised the government for not increasing wages for around 50 lakh workers employed in scheduled industries and alleged that its policies favoured employers over workers.

CITU district leaders S Jayachandra and T Subramanyam demanded regularisation of panchayat workers, Village Revenue Assistants (VRAs), and municipal workers. They also urged the government to ensure that salaries are paid on the first day of every month and to raise the retirement age of contract and outsourcing workers to 62 years.

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The Hans India