News and Pics from Hemanath Padubidri
for Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (RD/CN)

Udupi, Aug 5: The beedi and tobacco labour union, affiliated to CITU, staged a protest in the city on Monday August 4, against the anti-people policies of the government. They urged immediate redress of their demands on the sidelines of a nation-wide strike called by their union on Wednesday August 20. 
 
The central committee of the union resolved to stage a nation-wide protest during a member convention held at New Delhi on May 13.

They urged the central government act appropriately in order to curb inflation effectively, to implement all labour laws compulsorily, to include all labourers working in the unorganized sector under the purview of unorganized labourers social security Act 2007, to provide waiver of loan to agriculturists, to revoke restrictions on appointment for government jobs, to regularize the services of rural postman and grant gratuity and to settle employee salaries of all public sector undertakings including contract labourers. 
 
They also demanded hiking of minimum wages of beedi labourers, and payment of outstanding dearness allowances from 1996-2006 to all beedi labourers. They said that this benefit should also be extended to those labourers who have abandoned their trade during this period.
 
Accordingly, the office-bearers of the union presented a memorandum to leading beedi manufacturers in the city.