DHNS
  
Bangalore, Nov 3: The nearly 17,700 daily wage employees working in the many government departments have decided to stage a fast-unto-death agitation in front of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s official residence in Bangalore from November 27, demanding the government to regularise their service.

Announcing this to the media here on Thursday, Karnataka State Government SC/ST Daily Wage Employees’ Association Honorary President Chandrashekar Hiremath stated that these daily wage employees would be staging the agitation along with their spouses and children.

Stressing that this would be the last and final agitation by the daily wage employees demanding regularisation, Mr Hiremath said, the daily wage employees had resolved not to withdraw their agitation until their demand for regularisation of their services was not met by the government.
 
He said, when these employees were staging an indefinite dharna in Gulbarga for more than 16 months, Mr Kumaraswamy had come to the dharna spot when he visited Gulbarga on July 16, and had assured that measures would be initiated within a month towards the regularisation of their services. “And based on this assurance, the indefinite dharna, which was held for 489 days, was withdrawn,” he added.However, Mr Hiremath lamented that even though it was 100 days after the chief minister gave the assurance, so far, nothing has been done towards regularising the services of the daily wage employees in the State. “Meanwhile, we had met the chief minister four times in-between, and received only assurances from him, but no concrete measures were taken,” he said.

He pointed out that when the Supreme Court had struck down the appointments made on rural weightage in the State, the State Government had then framed special rules and had regularised their services as a one-time measure. “The government should do the same now and regularise the services of these daily wage employees,” he added.

Stating that he would be seeking the support of litterateurs, swamijis and others, Mr Hiremath said, he would be touring all the districts from November 8, preparing the daily wage employees for the Bangalore Chalo programme.