In order to assert their demands, the joint morcha of rural and farm labour organisations held a rail chakka jam from 12 noon to 4 pm on the Amritsar to Jammu route in Phillaur. Labour organisations participated in huge numbers in protest against the state government.
Leaders of the Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha declared that if the state government still did not implement their demands which had already been agreed upon and if their grievances were not addressed, then the government should be prepared for several protests in future. They said the future course of the agitation would soon be declared after another state-level meeting of the Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha. They also said though the CM had been changed with promise of bringing a policy change, the policies and stance of the government still remains the same.
They said the demands of the labourer organisations — like allotment of residential plots, grant of land rights to the underprivileged under Swamitva Scheme, power bill waivers, restoration of uprooted power meters among others — were being met with a dilly dallying approach from the state CM. They said the state CM had made big promises and declarations regarding the same, but on the ground level, these rights were being denied to the poor peasantry and labourers.
The union leader demanded that CM Channi hold a meeting with labour outfits and allocation of not just wheat from ration depots but also sugar, tea, among other essential commodities on control rates. They also demanded, plots for the homeless and the needy, stopping of blind interest rates and forceful extortions from micro-finance companies, 25 per cent reservation for labourers in cooperative societies and loan amount be increased to Rs 50,000, cancellation of dummy auction at Masania village in Gurdaspur, among other demands.
Mazdoor morcha’s Dehati Mazdoor Sabha state president Darshan Nahar, pendu Mazdoor Union Punjab state president Tarsem Peter, Punjab Khet Mazdoor state joint secretary Harmesh Malri, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Sabha leader Mukand Lal along with Gurinder Lal, harpal Bittu, Hans Raj Pabwan, Baldev Noorpuri, Kamaljit Sanawa, Satnam Uggi, Paramjit Randhawa, Kashmir Ghgshore, Jarnail Phillaur, Hari Ram Rasoolpuri, Surinder Toni, Harbans Mattu, Sutantar Kumar, Jaswinder among others were present on the occasion.