India: Unpaid Transport Workers Injured by Police

Hundreds of striking employees from the State Road Transport Corporation in Srinagar, Kashmir were injured by police on Monday the 14th. They were hit by tear gas shells and water cannons as police tried to break up a protest.

The demonstrators were demanding their pay. They haven’t seen a paycheck for the last five months.

The protestors held a rally outside the corporation’s headquarters.

[Muhammad Ashraf, On Strike]:
„We have given the government two options. Either the government should run the transport corporation effectively and pay the employees their salary, or wind up the whole corporation and pay the employees their compensation.”

Protesters were trying to meet the state’s finance minister to press for their demands, but police stopped them.

[Muhammad Ashraf, Protester]:
„On earlier occasions also the police baton charged us, our women and daughters. Today they are also trying to stop us from going to the secretariat. We want to meet the state finance minister. We want to know why he said that there was nothing for transport employees.”

All the protestors could do in the end was shout slogans against the authorities

(NTDTV)