J&K’s 1 lakh daily wagers trapped in endless wait

Srinagar, Nov 2: The unresolved issue of Jammu and Kashmir’s daily wagers continues to test the credibility of successive governments, caught between bureaucratic scrutiny and political assurances.

Despite repeated deadlines and the formation of multiple committees, tens of thousands of temporary employees remain in a state of limbo, neither regularised nor given parity in wages.

In March 2025, the government reconstituted a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary to examine the humanitarian, legal, and financial aspects of regularising casual, seasonal, and daily-rated workers across departments.

The panel was expected to submit its report within six months, but eight months later, there is no indication of progress.

The delay has once again triggered frustration among employees, who view it as symptomatic of a wider administrative inertia.

Employees Joint Action Committee President, Wajahat Hussain, described the situation as “a betrayal of trust.”

“The Chief Minister himself had fixed a six-month timeline for submission of the report. Eight months have passed, and the file has not moved. This silence is not procedural; it is deliberate neglect,” he said.

Hussain questioned the government’s shifting numbers on the total count of daily wagers.

“Some reports claim 1 lakh. The official record shows that around 61,000 workers were scrutinised by the Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by then Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather up to 2014,” he said.  “These are not ghost entries; these are real people who have served departments for years. Their regularisation is not a favour, it’s their right.”

According to official data presented in the Legislative Assembly, a total of 1,00,501 casual and other workers have been registered across departments through an Aadhaar-based biometric exercise.

The highest numbers are in Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control (38,585), Power Development (13,616), Forest (8317), and Public Works (R&B) (6801).

The biometric profiling was aimed at verifying identities, eliminating duplication, and ensuring transparency in records.

Yet, despite this data-driven mapping, the policy framework for regularisation remains unclear.

Departments continue to employ such workers on daily or seasonal wages, citing the continuity of essential services, but without a uniform legal or financial structure governing their employment.

Wajahat Hussain said the government must stop “mixing all categories of temporary employees under one label.”

“Those recruited through proper government procedures should not be equated with politically sponsored or adhoc appointments. The 61,000 scrutinised cases must be cleared immediately,” he said. “The promise of regularisation was not just an electoral commitment but one reiterated by the Chief Minister on the floor of the Assembly in March 2025.”

EJAC has also demanded that until the regularisation process is complete, daily wagers should be paid minimum wages at par with the Union Territory of Ladakh.

The union argues that the disparity in wage structure is both unfair and demoralising, particularly when workers in Ladakh, part of the same erstwhile State, are paid higher rates for comparable work.

Responding to queries from legislators in the recently concluded autumn session of the Legislative Assembly, the government confirmed that the Chief Secretary-led committee had been mandated to study all dimensions – constitutional, legal, administrative, and financial - and recommend a sustainable framework.

However, the Minister-in-Charge also clarified that “regularisation will follow the recommendations of the committee and will depend on financial and administrative feasibility,” signalling no immediate relief.

For thousands of workers, this conditional approach is a familiar pattern.

Over the years, the daily wager issue has been revisited through data collection drives, Aadhaar verifications, and committee reviews, but never through implementation.

The employees say that the latest impasse mirrors an enduring reluctance to translate recognition into reform.

“The government has enough verified data and decades of service records,” Hussain said. “What it lacks is sincerity and political will. Every passing day without action pushes thousands of families deeper into uncertainty.”

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah last week informed the Legislative Assembly that the government has constituted a committee headed by the Chief Secretary to look into the regularisation of daily wagers and contractual employees.

Replying to a bill moved by NC MLA Mir Saifullah seeking regularisation of services of employees working on a contractual basis, including casual labourers and daily wagers, CM Omar said the government was aware of the issue and had already initiated steps to address it.

“We formed a committee headed by the Chief Secretary in the last session. They are collecting details about the number of daily wagers and casual labourers, and also the financial implications of their regularisation. We should allow the Chief Secretary-led committee to do its job,” CM Omar said, urging Saifullah to withdraw the bill.