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JNU labourers getting less than minimum wages: report

By IANS

New Delhi : Days after seven Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students were rusticated for allegedly misbehaving with the registrar to demand better payment for labourers employed in the university, a civil rights group Friday said the workers were being denied even statutory minimum wages.

The People's Union of Democratic Right (PUDR), in its report, said that the workers were getting nothing more than a "subsistence wage".

"In addition, wherever one could examine their working conditions, they were found to be abysmal and devoid of the most basic requirements," the report underlined.

According to the report, 12 labourers were given Rs.2,100 each for working 30 days in November 2006, but it said they "deserved between Rs.3,312 to Rs.4,300". The report gave examples of other similar "underpayments" by the varsity.

"In most large establishments (such as JNU), there are petty vested interests that profit from the continuance of contract labour system, from the annual contracts that are awarded. The JNU administration does not exist in a vacuum, and is part of the larger ideological belief system that has become so hostile to workers over the last 15-20 years."

Last week, three students – Puja Shah, pursuing a master's in arts and aesthetics, Rituparno Goswami studying for his PhD in history, and Sirohi Nandan, doing an M. Phil in history, were rusticated for four semesters, or two academic years.

Four others – P. Kumar Managalm, from the School of Languages, Bano Jyotsna Lahiri, M. Phil (Sociology), Rajesh Ranjan, post graduate, final year in Korean language, and Kaustabh Banerjee, PhD in Economics, were rusticated for two semesters.

The JNU students union president Dhananjay Tripathi, general secretary Sandeep Singh and joint secretary Jyotsna Singh, have been handed a fine of Rs.2,000 each.

Scores of JNU students, including some faculty members, were protesting the administration's strong action against the students.