Homeguards seek equal pay for equal work, regular duty

Ranchi: Homeguards from different parts of the state on Monday staged a demonstration at Morahabadi ground to press for equal pay for equal work and regular duty.
“The agitators departed after an official in the CM’s office informed that they would be given time to discuss their demands with the CM after two days,” the secretary of Jharkhand Homeguards Welfare Association (JHWA), Rajiv Tiwari, said.
A delegation of JHWA is expected to meet chief minister Hemant Soren, to press for the demands.
Of the 20,000 homeguards in the state, only 12,000 get proper assignments and a large number of the remaining ones are unemployed, JHWA claimed.
Homeguards are paid according to their duties and those deprived of work get a low monthly salary. “Many of them are also exploited under the prevailing circumstances,” Tiwari said.
While citing the orders of Supreme Court and the Jharkhand High Court regarding equal pay for equal work, Tiwari added that homequards are earn lesser than the regular policemen for the same work.
The JHWA added that the homeguards get Rs 500 per day as honorarium in Jharkhand, compared to Rs 774 in Bihar.
The CM in his pre-election meeting at Sohrai Bhawan had promised the homeguards that he would fulfill both the demands but so far no step has been taken, the association claimed.