ON January 30, thousands of workers of the Chenani-Nashri Four Lane and Tunnel road project organised a militant protest demonstration at Jammu against the government’s inaction about and indifference towards their genuine and legitimate demands. The demonstration was organised by the Chenani-Nashri Four Lane and Tunnel Construction Workers Union, affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), at Chenani. The protesting workers were shouting slogans demanding implementation of labour laws and the Minimum Wages Act, reinstatement of workers terminated by the management from time to time, withdrawal of false and frivolous cases against the workers, wages in lieu of overtime, weekly rest, national holidays to be paid, grant of casual, earned and medical leave, and a classification of workers as skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled on the basis of the job performed. Addressing the workers, CPI(M) state secretary and CITU state president Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said that the people’s basic right to protest in order to press their demands is being crushed whenever they agitate. He pointed out that the workers are being denied the basic statuary facilities and are also being subjected to unlawful victimisation in the form of rampant dismissal whenever they protest against the powerful nexus of contractors, managements, administration and police. However, Tarigami warned, the way right to peaceful protests is being stifled will only encourage the emergence of autocratic and violent forces in the society. He demanded immediate reinstatement of those workers who have been terminated and the withdrawal of false and frivolous cases against them and other workers. The trade unions cannot accept the present state of the state or central government’s inaction and indifference on the pressing demands of the workers, the CPI(M) leader said. He urged that, in the face of continuing unresponsiveness, only a broader platform and united movements of workers can force the government to listen to the voice of the oppressed. This working class unity with other toiling sections of the society has to be widened and strengthened in order to oppose exploitation and the anti-poor policies, he stressed. State CITU general secretary Om Prakash lamented that the workers of the Chenani-Udhampur road project were not being paid even minimum wages, were not covered under the social security schemes like the Employees Provident Fund Act, and not being paid their allowances for overtime. There is no sufficient safety mechanism available to them. The police are unnecessarily arresting the workers in fake cases to crush their protest actions for their genuine rights, he said, adding that the management of the project should carry the workers along instead of taking them for a ride. Demanding a stop to police intervention on workers’ issues, senior trade union leader Sham Prasad Kesar said that the workers who have been terminated should be reinstated without any further delay and that they must also be provided facilities under the labour laws. He stressed the point that the management must avoid confrontation and find out an amicable solution to the issues through negotiations with the representatives of workers’ unions and associations. Arshid Malik, president, and Abdul Rashid, general secretary, of the Four Lane Construction Workers Union also addressed the protesting workers. They said that on the one hand the government was claiming that these projects will provide jobs to hundreds of unemployed youth in the region while, on the other hand, workers are not only being thrown out of jobs but also punished with force. (Jagdesh Chander) JKDYF PROTESTS ON PATHRIBAL CASE ON February 1, activists of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Youth Federation (JKDYF) held a protest demonstration at the Press Enclave in Srinagar against the army’s action of closing the Pathribal case. The activists were shouting slogans, demanding stern action against the army personnel indicted by the CBI in the Pathribal case. They also demanded revocation of draconian laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSAPA) and Disturbed Areas Act from Jammu & Kashmir. Terming the closure of the Pathribal case as unfortunate and unacceptable, the federation asked the state government to step in, find a legal way to get the case reopened and pave way for a civilian trial. The exoneration of the army personnel, on the basis of hastily drawn conclusions, not only deprives justice to the victims but further erodes the credibility of state institutions in the matter of probity and fairness, it stated. A JKDYF statement issued on the occasion said: “The army's self-acquittal of the Pathribal accused is a continuation of the cover-ups of human rights violations in the state. The army has a free hand in doling out justice as it deems fit since it enjoys immunity from law under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act.” It further said: “The AFSAPA provides unfettered rights to the security forces including the license to kill.” Terming the law as the root cause of human rights violations in the state, the JKDYF demanded its immediate revocation from the state. It also demanded stern action against the army personnel indicted by the CBI for abduction and murder of five civilians in a fake encounter at Pathribal in 2000.