Farmers Movement Archive

Farm laws repealed | A silver lining appears for out-of-work toll plaza staff

For the toll plaza workers of Punjab and Haryana, who had been rendered jobless after the agitating farmers laid siege to their work stations, a silver lining is finally in sight, now that the Prime Minister has agreed to annul the contentious farm laws. The enactment of the three farm laws had led to widespread protests, with the agitating farmers capturing toll booths in the region . Out-of-work staffers are hopeful that once the farmers call off their protracted protest, they will be reinstated. Shekhar, who has worked at the Ladowal toll plaza, says over 100 staffers worked at the toll plaza in three shifts – 8am to 4pm, 4pm to midnight and midnight to 8 am – before the farmers captured the booth. “Now, around four to five people of the cleaning and security departments work at the plaza. Many people were not given salaries as the company managing the toll for the National Highway Authority of India did not earn anything,” he said, adding, that their manager had also been fired. “Though workers were paid only ₹10,000- ₹12,000, but at least they were making a living. As the farmers will call of their protest in all likelihood, toll plaza operations will get back on track and the staff will be reinstated. The project manager of the private company managing security at the Ladowal toll plaza , Krishna, said that no notification had been received so far regarding the resumption of normal operations.

Hindustan Times

20-11-2021

Chandigarh