TTD forest workers launch indefinite strike

Tirupati: TTD Forest Workers Union leaders, led by CITU senior leader Kandarapu Murali, launched an indefinite fast here on Saturday, demanding regularisation of contract workers in the forest

department. The forest workers union has been agitating for the last three years seeking regularisation of contract employees, but in vain. Hence, they launched indefinite fast from Saturday.

Expressing solidarity to the forest workers’ strike, various trade union leaders including AITUC, IFTU and CITU, visited the hunger strike camp at TTD forest office on Hare Rama Hare Krishna road in the city. Leaders of teachers’ union, NGOs, social organisations, unions like auto, building workers, transport employees etc have turned up to extend their support to the TTD forest workers.

Meanwhile, political party leaders including former MP and CPM leader P Madhu, Harinadha Reddy (CPI), Kiran Royal (JSP), journalist union leaders V Gopi, J Thulasiram, Srinivasulu and others also extended support to the forest workers.

Speaking on the occasion, CITU senior leader Murali said that TTD had regularised 162 contract employees, who have only 10 years’ service, but did not regularised the remaining 200 employees, who have 20 to 30 years of service in TTD. Despite various agitations, the TTD management failed to regularise the 200 employees though their juniors were regularised, he said.

He further said that even the TTD Trust Board passed a resolution for the regularisation of all the 362 contract workers in 2019, but the resolution was not implemented so far. Against this backdrop, the union leaders took up indefinite fast and asserted that the hunger strike would continue till the TTD agree for the regularisation.