Pending wages, amounting to lakhs, are why workers involved in constructing a new hostel on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus feel allegedly harassed. Today, April 4, two workers refused to continue the work until their wages were paid. And the tussle between the varsity administration and the workers is proving to be a cause of worry for the students. "The matter involves workers and students, so we stand with them," says Madhurima Kundu, Vice-President of All India Students' Association (AISA)-JNU.
"Workers and supervisors who built the Barak Hostel at JNU haven't been paid for 2-3 months...Payments to daily wage workers, small contractors, tile workers, electricians, crane workers, and others are pending," a press release by AISA states. According to the students, there is a "huge hostel crisis" at JNU, and the Barak Hostel would solve them. However, as the situation stands, the construction of the hostel is being delayed, and students are facing the brunt.
Showing solidarity with the workers, JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) Convenor Adarsh Kumar and AISA activists have gathered at the construction spot and are demanding that their pending wages be paid. "We want the hostel to be handed over and the allotment to begin at the earliest," Madhurima says.
Speaking about the workers' situation, Deepak Kumar, a plant operator at the site, claims, "My salary is pending for the months of September, October and November 2022. When they did not pay it, I gave my resignation. But when I handed in the application, the company informed that if I resign, my salary will not be paid at all. Many like me went through the same experience."
The workers' supervisor, Amit Jain, narrates the same tale. "My salary has been pending for three months and every time I asked for it, I was refused. I submitted my resignation online and March 31 was my last day. On April 1, when I went to ask for my salary, I was abused and sent off. If supervisors like me are suffering such treatment, how will we pay our workers on time? What assurance can we give them?" he alleges.
Students stand by workers
Jain mentions that due to the non-payment of his salary, he did not have proper food for days. "We approached the students for help, and they have stood with us," he says. The students tried meeting the administration officials but did not receive a response. "We tried to meet the Rector, but it wasn't fruitful. We went to the Dean of Students Welfare, but he told us that he could not help," Madhurima says.
Explaining the situation further, Adarsh Kumar says that the funding for the construction of the hostel was received from the North-Eastern Ministry, and JNU took up the responsibility. "A company named CPC Construction Group was given the task, but the owners of this company are very rude towards the workers," he claims. The workers confirm this fact.
Hostel work still needs to be completed in ten days?
Adarsh also mentions that according to the government guidelines the workers should be paid about Rs 800 a day, but their wages are being cut. "They are receiving varying amounts, from Rs 400 to Rs 150 per day, but even with that, their wages are pending. It now amounts to about Rs 50 lakh in total," he claims. Despite this, Jain alleges that the JNU administration has asked the workers to hand over the hostel in the next 10 days. With no other way in sight, he says that he has filed a police complaint.
The students and workers allege that the administration has shown "the same apathy towards all contractual workers on campus—the sanitation workers, mess workers, horticulture workers, etc. Salaries are being delayed by months, and workers are threatened whenever they raise their voices," as per the press release. Such problems cropped up several times last year when students and workers raised their voices against the administration.
"Sucheta De, former president of JNUSU, was organising the workers to raise their voice against this repetitive delay in the payment of the workers. Comrade Sucheta and Comrade Urmila, the president of the union of contractual workers, were declared out of bounds from this campus. This shows the anti-worker nature of the current JNU administration," says the press release by AISA.
