Workers’ protest over irregular wages spread across Haridwar’s Sidcul area

Haridwar: Employees of a major pharmaceutical company in SIDCUL went on strike and held a sit-in protest on Friday, alleging discrepancies in salary payments and raising other employment-related concerns. Similar demonstrations were also reported at two electrical manufacturing units, disrupting production at these sites, officials said.

The protests are the latest in a series of labour disputes in the industrial belt over the past few weeks. Workers at several factories have earlier staged demonstrations over demands linked to wages and working conditions. Officials said police cases had previously been registered against workers of two industrial units in connection with strike-related incidents.

The district administration has appealed to both management and employees to maintain peace and resolve disputes through dialogue and mutual discussion. “Police force has been deployed in SIDCUL to maintain law and order, and we are trying to pacify the situation through interaction with workers. We have requested them not to violate the law,” SP City Abhay Singh told TOI.

Agitators have expressed dissatisfaction with wages, working conditions at the units and rising living costs. “The salary of skilled workers should be hiked in line with inflation. It is difficult to live on rent with a low salary in Haridwar while companies increase their revenue by hiking product prices,” said Vikas Kumar, a worker.

Haridwar district magistrate Mayur Dixit said most demands were related to wages and salary hikes, which fall under company management’s purview. “We have asked the management to resolve all valid demands of the workers and initiate dialogue with them regarding the salary hike. We have also taken action against rumour-mongers and requested workers to approach the labour department with their demands if management does not address them. Action will be taken according to law to solve their problems.” Dixit told TOI.