Coimbatore : In an attempt to draw the attention of the Tamil Nadu State Government, the Anti-Poaching Watchers (APW) of the State Forest Department are to go on a one day hungers strike on Friday in Coimbatore.
Coimbatore : In an attempt to draw the attention of the Tamil Nadu State Government, the Anti-Poaching Watchers (APW) of the State Forest Department are to go on a one day hungers strike on Friday in Coimbatore.
Hundreds of APWs working with the department would carry out the state-wide hunger strike on the day with the majority of them gathering near Tatabad in Coimbatore. Those who cannot participate in the strike in Coimbatore would be on hunger strike in their respective districts.
According to members of the Tamil Nadu APWS and Other Workers Association, their demands include making permanent their jobs, on par with the APWs working in Social Forestry Section of the Department.
“While almost all of the APWs in social forestry have been made permanent, only 144 of the 1119 APWs working in the wildlife section and other sections have been offered permanent jobs,” said a member.
They claimed that despite working for 24 hours throughout the year, they were neither given hike nor promoted as Forest Watchers.
“When we are putting our lives on the line towards the conservation of wildlife in extreme conditions and sensitive maoist areas inside core forests, the Government released recently aims to offer the Forest Watcher posts as direct posting to freshers. We on the other hand have been serving the department at a very low wage for more than 20 years, but are not even paid properly,” pondered another member.
They further claimed that if their demands are not met, they would continue to boycott work in their respective ranges.
Hundreds of APWs working with the department would carry out the state-wide hunger strike on the day with the majority of them gathering near Tatabad in Coimbatore. Those who cannot participate in the strike in Coimbatore would be on hunger strike in their respective districts.
According to members of the Tamil Nadu APWS and Other Workers Association, their demands include making permanent their jobs, on par with the APWs working in Social Forestry Section of the Department.
“While almost all of the APWs in social forestry have been made permanent, only 144 of the 1119 APWs working in the wildlife section and other sections have been offered permanent jobs,” said a member.
They claimed that despite working for 24 hours throughout the year, they were neither given hike nor promoted as Forest Watchers.
“When we are putting our lives on the line towards the conservation of wildlife in extreme conditions and sensitive maoist areas inside core forests, the Government released recently aims to offer the Forest Watcher posts as direct posting to freshers. We on the other hand have been serving the department at a very low wage for more than 20 years, but are not even paid properly,” pondered another member.
They further claimed that if their demands are not met, they would continue to boycott work in their respective ranges.