Contractual employees of the Panchayat and Rural Development (P&RD) Department staged a sit-in protest at the Bajali District Council office on Wednesday, 19 November, stepping up their statewide agitation against what they described as years of neglect of their service conditions.
Holding placards and shouting slogans, the workers reaffirmed their core demands, which include equal pay for equal work, job security until the age of 60, an annual minimum salary increment of 10 per cent, and the swift introduction of a structured Human Resource (HR) policy for contractual staff across Assam.
Several protesters told the media that their current remuneration was inadequate to sustain their families, noting that the rising cost of living had worsened their financial strain. One employee said the salary they received was “not enough to run our households properly”.
The demonstrators cautioned that they would intensify their agitation if the state government failed to address their concerns. A protest leader warned that they would be compelled to launch a Dispur Gherao in Guwahati should their issues remain unresolved, signalling a more assertive phase of protests in the days ahead.
