Terminated Drivers, Conductors of DPS Budgam stages protest against the School Management
Accuses former Union Minister of cheating them
Srinagar, Oct 26, KDC: Scores of drivers and conductors working with Delhi Public School (DPS) Sheikhpora in central Kashmir’s Budgam district staged a protest on Monday against the retrenchment notice given to them by the school authorities.
According to news agency KDC, scores of drivers and conductors working with DPS Sheikhpora Budgam assembled outside the school premises and staged a protest against the school management for dismissing them from the services.
Having assembled under the banner of Drivers Union DPS Budgam, they raised slogans against the school management for making them jobless.
They said that they have been working as drivers, conductors in the school, since last 10 to 13 years, but now we are being terminated, which is injustice with us.
One of the protestors said that on 15th September we were intimated through SMS messages that our services were being terminated and when we approached the management to provide us the reason for our retrenchment, they said that the school is suffering financial losses, an argument which is against the Pandemic law.
“Even our gratuity has forcibly credited to our accounts, to pave a way for laying us off,” he added.
Another protestor, while accusing former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Saif-u-Din Soz, who is the main founders of the school, of cheating them said, “The school had no access road and villagers were promised a job against contributing land towards the construction of the road, but now they are shunting us out, under the pretext of financial loss.”
He said, “School has not done us any favor by providing us jobs, but we have contributed land for the purpose of access road up-to the school complex against these jobs.”
“If our jobs are being taken away, we will take back our land, as simple as that,” he said.
The protesting drivers and conductors accused the school management of violating the permission in the context of the transport facility.
“The school has a permission to run only 16 vehicles, but actually there are 100 school buses operating on the different routes, which makes management liable for punishment and cancellation of permission,” they said.
They also alleged that school management wants to get rid of them and instead recruit outsiders, which they will not allow in any case.
If school goes ahead with its retrenchment plan. Our first counter step will be closing the access road to the school,” they warned.
Meanwhile the school management could not be contacted for a comment, as the person who received the call said that it was the wrong number. (KDC)
