Jammu, 18 August (H.S.): Temporary and daily-wage workers of the Jal Shakti Department have raised serious concern over the non-payment of their salaries for the past four months, warning that they will stop work and go on strike if their pending wages are not released by August 23.

The workers said they are already struggling to manage their families on a monthly wage of around Rs 9,000, which they described as insufficient in the face of rising inflation and increasing household expenses.

Speaking about the financial hardships being faced by the workers, Shiv Narayan Singh said that the salary delay has directly affected the education of their children. He said that with four months' wages pending, many workers are finding it difficult to pay their children's school fees and meet other educational expenses.

Jatinder Sharma said that the situation becomes even more difficult when a family member falls ill, as they have no other stable source of income to depend upon. The continued delay in salary payments could push the workers into even greater difficulties. He appealed to the authorities to release the pending wages at the earliest, saying that it would become extremely difficult for workers to manage their families if the salaries were not paid.

The workers stated that they recently met the XEN of the Jal Shakti Department, who assured them that their pending salaries would be released by August 23.

However, they warned that if the salaries are not released by the given deadline, they will be compelled to stop work and launch a strike.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar