Shillong: The All Jaintia Muster Roll Workers and Labour Union is lashing out at the Public Health Engineering Department. Workers have not seen a paycheck in three months. April, May, and June wages remain unpaid. This despite a direct order from the State Finance Department to all government wings to clear pending dues immediately.
Union president KL Pariat pointed out that other departments followed the order, but the PHE office remains a stubborn outlier. The financial squeeze hit hard during the Behdeinkhlam festival. Families struggled to pay for food and basic household needs. Some workers lost their homes. Landlords evicted them for failing to pay rent on time.
Pariat says the situation is dire. “The delay has affected workers not only economically but also physically and mentally, as they face constant uncertainty over their livelihoods,” Pariat said. He added that these payment delays have become a recurring headache for the department staff.
The union sent a formal memorandum to the Chief Minister, the Finance department, and the PHE Chief Engineer. They want their money now. They are demanding a quick fix to stop the ongoing hardship.
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