KURSEONG
17 Oct 2013
The Janmukti Asthai Karmachari Sangathan
or JAKS, the casual employees’ wing of the GJM, has suffered a huge
blow with a splinter group forming a new union named ‘Darjeeling
Himalayan Workers Union’.
The DHWU is affiliated to INTTCU, the
TMC employees’ union. The development shows the Trinamool Congress has
strengthened its presence in the hills causing more headaches for the
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
It is learnt that a section of casual
workers from the erstwhile DGHC, who had joined the JAKS seeking a
resolution to their problem of regularisation, has formed the new hills
employees’ union frustrated by the failure of the JAKS in addressing
their problems.
DHWU president Dilip Singh said, “We
have been working as causal workers since 1989, first under the DGHC and
now under the GTA. We have sworn by the GNLF flag and the GJM flag. But
even after working for so many years, no solution has come out and we
still remain casual workers.”
He said various rights and facilities
enjoyed by permanent employees do not cover casual workers and they are
facing a hard time trying to manage family affairs with meagre salaries.
“We have left the JAKS and launched a
new union to fight for and to obtain our rights and facilities as also
for the overall benefit of employees,” noted Singh, adding more than 500
causal workers have pledged support to the new union.
Among the portfolios announced in the
meeting today, the post of president has gone to Dilip Singh, Binanjay
Gurung has been elected to the post of general secretary and Saran
Khawas and Kabita Thapa are the vice presidents of the DHWU. Meanwhile,
Om Prakash Karki is assistant secretary, Pratima Pradhan and Satyawan
Tamang joint secretaries and Mahendra Rai and Saroj Diyali are joint
treasurers.
Notably, Dilip Singh and some of his
associates from Kurseong had held important posts in the JAKS. They
recently resigned from their posts and joined the TMC. TMC general
secretary Mukul Roy welcomed them into the party handing at a meeting in
Kurseong held a few weeks earlier.
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