Construction workers staged a demonstration outside the labour office in Ballari on Monday putting forward many demands, including the release of educational allowance pending for the last two years, simplifying the renewal of new cards and ensuring that the benefits meant for construction workers reach them.
The workers associated with the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) raised slogans demanding the rightful benefits of construction workers.
“The Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board has been formed only after consistent struggles. It offered many benefits to construction workers in the initial stage. However, real construction workers are finding it difficult to get new memberships and claim the benefits because of many changes in policy,” State president of Karnataka State Composite Building Construction Workers Association A. Devadas said during the agitation.
“The government must attend to these issues and take steps to ensure that genuine construction workers are not deprived of their rightful benefits,” he added
Demanding the increase of educational allowance to the children of construction workers, Mr. Devadas said that the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board must implement what is useful to the construction workers and their families instead of what is beneficial to contractors.
“The board has decided to distribute laptops and other utility kits to the families of construction workers. This goes well with the interests of contractors who supply the laptops and other equipment. The construction workers want more money for their children’s education and not the misuse of their hard-earned money,” he said.
“The board must stop misusing funds and come up with concrete plans to make better use of the hard-earned money for the benefit of construction workers,” he said and called upon the workers to get united and participate in the State-wide agitation scheduled for August 5.
