North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum has demanded the immediate release of salaries for casual employees of NEHU.
Nongrum also expressed concern that working men and women are being trod upon by their employers. Stating that in the recent agitation by NEHU casual workers it was highlighted that the employees are not being provided with job and wage security and their demands for regularisation were dismissed by the university administration, Nongrum criticised the Vice-Chancellor Prof PS Shukla for not engaging with the workers directly through discussions.
As they are effectively on strike, NEHU has been cutting the workers’ wages, which Nongrum disagrees with, saying that “crooks” are using the issue to stall the payment of salaries.
“A wage cut is unacceptable as workers are forced to sit in protest because they have to highlight their issue of regularisation. On the one hand the VC does not arrange for regularisation of casual workers and on the other the university administration is indulging in wage cuts on the pretext of their absence from work,” he said.