More than 12 thousand MNREGA contractual employees, who have been on strike for two months demanding regularization in Chhattisgarh, have resigned. On the part of the employees, this step has been taken after the dismissal of 21 assistant project employees coming under MNREGA by the state government on Friday.
MNREGA Employees Federation Vice President Tikamchand Kaushik said that the employees of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act have been protesting since April for regularization of all, equal pay and many other demands.
He further said that on Friday (3-May-2022) the service of 21 APO employees was suddenly terminated by the state government without any reason. Against this decision of the state government and in support of our demand, 12,371 employees, including 9 thousand employment assistants, have resigned under MNREGA.
Kaushik, who worked as a technical assistant under MGNREGA, told that “The election manifesto of 2018 had promised that all contractual employees would be regularized, but till now the state government has not taken it. No step has been taken. We need job security to live our life better. We have given a big part of our life to this job.”
Last month, in view of the movement of contractual employees, the state government increased the honorarium of employment assistants under MNREGA from Rs 5 thousand to Rs 9,540. At the same time, on other demands of contractual employees, it was said by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel at that time that a committee would be formed to consider the demand of MNREGA employees.
There has been a demand from MNREGA workers for a long time to implement the Civil Services Rules, 1966 and the Panchayat Workers Rules. Regarding this, a Dandi March was also taken out by MNREGA workers against the government in Dantewada district, which was named as the Tricolor March towards the auxiliary workers.