Meghalaya: Demand to release Rs 52 crore for unoganised workers 'pending' for a year

By A Representative
Taking serious note of the failure of the Maghalaya government's refusal for a year to ensure distribution of the Rs 52 crore promise by it in March 2020 under the Chief Minister’s Relief Against Wage Loss (CRAWL), intended to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on unorganized sector workers, India's civil rights network National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has said it supports social activist Angela Rangad who has been on a protest sit-in at the gates of the Secretariat in Shillong on this.
Part of the Thma u Rangli (TUR) collective, Angela is seeking relief for domestic workers, street vendors, and daily wager workers. An RTI filed by TUR in November 2020 showed irregularities not only in registering the workers entitled to this cash transfer, but also in transferring the promised amount of INR 2,100, corresponding to compensation for three weeks.
"The disbursement of the Rs 5,000 intended for each labourer registered under the Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (MBOCWWB) is similarly pending and has failed to provide the necessary relief", an NAPM note said, regretting, "The Government of Meghalaya, and Deputy CM and minister in charge for labour Prestone Tynsong have been blatantly refusing to acknowledge any irregularity."
"In spite of prior demands by TUR, and other organizations, the State government has refused to take action and make available the financial assistance that the workers are entitled to. Unsurprisingly, the government is more preoccupied with ensuring the well-being of the rich, leaving the working classes to suffer the impact of loss of livelihood sources and access to food, healthcare and shelter", it adds.
Asking the State government to ensure registration of all unorganized sector workers under CRAWL, and releasing the Rs 2,100 to each immediately, NAPM said, at the same time the government must ensure release of Rs 5,000 to all labourers registered under MBOCWWB.
NAPM also demanded diversion of MLAs' funds should to support the families of unorganized workers, utilisation of 20% of the salaries of Class I officers and tax refunds for IAS and IPS officers to cover out of pocket expenses for Covid-affected working class people, and ensuring 200 person-days work under NREGA annually across Meghalaya, with Rs 600 as the per day wage.

The “Dr” debate masks a larger crisis in allied-health education

By Dr P K Gupta* India’s allied-health professions have long operated in a fragmented landscape of universities, hospitals, State authorities and private institutions, each with its own nomenclature, curriculum and standards. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 was meant to correct this by creating a unified national framework for education, professional regulation and institutional recognition. Few dispute the need for such oversight. The real question is whether standardisation is quietly becoming synonymous with longer courses, additional internships and new professional titles—changes that risk masking deeper gaps in clinical training, institutional capacity and affordability.

Pilgrimage or pollution? The waste crisis of Indian faith

By Raj Kumar Sinha* In today's times, there are certain issues that are constantly talked about and discussed, yet no visible impact seems to be made. Beyond water, soil, and pollution, one crisis that continues to be overlooked is waste. Like other life-threatening problems, waste too is gradually moving toward burying and obliterating us. After the Kanwar Yatra in Haridwar, approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste were left behind on the riverbanks, including bottles filled with urine.

Arrival of USS Lincoln: A ‘leisure trip’ to Thailand or a neo-colonial move to commodify women?

By Benyasiri Eimviriyapong The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) for a ‘leisure trip’ in Thailand before returning to its campaign of destruction against the people of West Asia demands immediate interrogation and opposition. For us Thai people, and those in sites of American plunder across the globe, this a rattling of the US’ cold war colonial chains on its most loyal lap dog, while conducting a war of aggression in Iran and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. In allowing the USS Lincoln to dock, the Thai ruling elites are once again facilitating a system of imperial violence that extends far beyond Southeast Asian borders, a system which in our case, is predicated on sexual violence and femicide.

Counterview

Search This Blog