Temporary workers under the MGNREGA scheme in West Bengal have not received their salaries for several months.
The West Bengal Agricultural Workers Union, representing these workers, has been demanding salary arrears and regularization. They claim that their salaries have been delayed for more than 16 months and despite doing similar work, temporary workers are being disadvantaged in terms of salaries and permanent employment opportunities.
On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court gave conditional permission for a sit-in protest at Shaheed Minar Maidan in Kolkata, allowing only 15 workers to participate in the protest at night. The court has allowed the program to continue from 10 am to 7 pm for the next 12 days.
The workers' union alleges that the police initially denied permission for the protest, leading to their approach to the court.