Assam: P&RD contractual staff stage sit-in demonstration in Bajali, threaten to intensify protest if demands unmet

Contractual employees under the Panchayat and Rural Development (P&RD) Department staged a sit-in demonstration at the Bajali District Council office on Wednesday, November 19, intensifying their statewide protest against what they described as long-standing neglect of their service conditions.

Carrying placards and raising slogans, the employees reiterated their key demands, including equal pay for equal work, job security up to the age of 60, an annual minimum salary hike of 10 per cent, and the immediate formulation and implementation of a structured Human Resource (HR) policy for contractual staff across Assam.

Speaking to the media, several protesters said that the existing remuneration is not adequate to sustain their families, adding that the rising cost of living has further exacerbated their difficulties. “The salary we receive is not enough to run our households properly,” one employee said.

The agitating workers warned that if the state government fails to address their grievances, they will escalate their movement. “If our issues remain unresolved, we will be compelled to launch a Dispur Gherao agitation in Guwahati,” a protest leader stated, signalling a more aggressive phase of demonstrations in the coming days.