Around 300 workers in Latehar shot letters, each envelope containing a Rs 5 note, to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to mark Labour Day, voicing their protest against the measly increase - from Rs 162 to Rs 167 - in MGNREGS wage in Jharkhand announced earlier this year.
Protesting under the banner of Grameen Swaraj Mazdoor Sangh, the daily wage workers took out a rally, shouting slogans like " panch rupaiye mein kaise ayenge achhe din", in Manika block, around 25km from the district headquarters, on Monday.
Later, each of them submitted a Rs 5 note, along with a covering letter addressed to the Prime Minister highlighting their plight, to the union members. The individual letters carried details like the names, signatures and job card numbers of the labourers.
James Herenj, a member of the workers' union, said the central government had increased the MGNREGS wage from Rs 162 per day to Rs 167 per day this year, at a time when prices of essentials had gone through the roof.
"Interest in MGNREGS work is waning in the state due to low wages. The minimum wage has been fixed at Rs 212 per day by the Jharkhand government. However, the rural job scheme gives only Rs 167," Herenj told media over phone from Latehar.
According to members of the union, the wage under the rural job scheme in Jharkhand was raised by just Rs 4 (from Rs 158 to Rs 162) last year and by another Rs 5 this year.
In the letters, all carrying the same message, the Latehar workers said Jharkhand labourers were "feeling very lucky" because the wage hikes in 17 other states were even less.
