Hamalis demand hike in piece rate in Vijayawada

Vijayawada: Hamalis associated with the Civil Supplies department works observed one day strike on Tuesday in the state, demanding that the government increase the piece rate to their work.

The Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Hamalis Association (CITU) called for one day strike protesting against the inaction of the government on increasing the piece rate for the Hamalis.

The union honorary president, K Umamaheswara Rao addressing the Hamalis in Vuyyuru, Krishna district, said the previous agreement on payment of piece rate to the Hamalis was ended in December 2019 but the government did not revise the piece rate in spite of the repeated representations submitted by the association leaders. He said thousands of Hamalis are suffering in the state due to increasing prices of essential commodities and other expenses.

Umamaheswara Rao said the Hamalis did excellent work during the Corona pandemic in the state but the government was not recognizing their services and not increasing the piece rate (charges for their services). He demanded the government to immediately release GO to revise the piece rate and help thousands of Hamalis associated with the loading and unloading of stocks of the Civil Supplies department. He also demanded the state government to implement ESI scheme to the Hamalis in the state. The association staged protests in all districts in response to the state wide protests on Tuesday.