Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
India

Golden Temple Priests Time Protest With Badals' 'Akhand Path', Get Partial Wage Hike

IANS, 01 Aug, 2017 11:56 AM
    Pathis (priests) working at the Golden Temple today protested against “low wages” in the presence of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who had organised an “akhand path”. 
     
     
    The pathis, supported by colleagues from Gurdwara Shahidan Sahib, Gurdwara Budha Sahib and Gurdwara Baba Bakala, refused to accept fresh “akhand path” bookings till their demands, including a wage hike and facilities on a par with regular employees of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), were accepted.
     
     
    The standoff ended only after their grievance was partially addressed in the evening. The SGPC agreed to raise their shift wage from Rs 600 per session to Rs 800, against the demand for Rs 1,000. They would also be entitled to benefits under the group medical insurance scheme. 
     
     
    The SGPC has engaged around 8,000 pathis on a temporary basis for its gurdwaras across Punjab. Of these, 800 are working at the Golden Temple, 500 at Gurdwara Shahidan Sahib and nearly 150 each at Gurdwara Budha Sahib and Gurdwara Baba Bakala. They are paid on the basis of “path” shifts. 
     
     
    On an average, a pathi ends up getting Rs 9,000 a month. With the raise, each will get Rs 12,000 a month. Earlier, pathis Angrej Singh and Harpal Singh accused the SGPC of adopting double standards when it came to paying wages or offering medical and educational facilities to its employees.
     
     
     
     
    Prior to the poll, the SGPC had given them a raise of just Rs 50 per shift at Sukhbir’s insistence, they said. 
     
     
    “It was a meagre raise. We were forced to protest after the SGPC refused to hear us. A majority of the pathis have been associated with respective gurdwaras for the past three decades, but are not treated on a par with other employees. Neither can our children study in SGPC-run schools or institutes, nor can our families get free medical aid in its hospitals. We had approached successive SGPC presidents, but to no avail,” they said.
     
     
    Harsimrat condemned the protest, saying “it was unbecoming of them to vitiate the spiritual environs by raising slogans”. SGPC’s executive member Ram Singh said: “They could have approached us. But hampering the ‘akhand path’ and raising slogans was uncalled for.” A delegation of the Shiromani Akhand Pathi Welfare Society later met an SGPC panel.
     
     
    As a result of the protest, only 17 of the 41 scheduled “akhand paths” were performed by the evening. The SGPC has on its payroll around 10,000 employees deputed in various gurdwaras and institutes run under its control.
     
     
    A sewadar (messenger) gets between Rs 10,000-15,000 per month, while a secretary-level official gets around Rs 70,000-75,000 per month. Other perks commensurate with those of semi-government institute employees.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Former Punjab DGP KPS Gill Dies At 82

    Former Punjab DGP KPS Gill Dies At 82
    Gill, a former Director General of Punjab Police, was suffering from end-stage kidney failure and significant ischemic heart disease.

    Former Punjab DGP KPS Gill Dies At 82

    Canada Grants Visa And A Free Ticket To The Retired CRPF Top Cop Tejinder Singh Dhillon

    Canada Grants Visa And A Free Ticket To The Retired CRPF Top Cop Tejinder Singh Dhillon
    Canada has granted visa and a free ticket to the retired CRPF top cop who, a week back, was denied entry to Canada.

    Canada Grants Visa And A Free Ticket To The Retired CRPF Top Cop Tejinder Singh Dhillon

    Pakistan Is A 'Well Of Death', Easy To Go But Tough To Return, Says Uzma After Her Return To India

    Pakistan Is A 'Well Of Death', Easy To Go But Tough To Return, Says Uzma After Her Return To India
    Uzma Ahmed, the Indian woman who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint during her visit there, called Pakistan a “well of death” while narrating her ordeal on her return on Thursday.

    Pakistan Is A 'Well Of Death', Easy To Go But Tough To Return, Says Uzma After Her Return To India

    Viral: Video Shows 4 Sikh Men Beaten Up In Ajmer, Rajasthan Govt Orders Probe- WATCH!

    Viral: Video Shows 4 Sikh Men Beaten Up In Ajmer, Rajasthan Govt Orders Probe- WATCH!
    The 51-second video shows four members of Sikh community being abused and thrashed by a mob as people witnessing the incident filmed the entire episode.

    Viral: Video Shows 4 Sikh Men Beaten Up In Ajmer, Rajasthan Govt Orders Probe- WATCH!

    1984 Sikh Victims: Delhi Govt Waives Power Bills Of More Than 2000 Families

    1984 Sikh Victims: Delhi Govt Waives Power Bills Of More Than 2000 Families
    The Delhi government has decided to waive pending electricity bills of over 2,000 families of 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims.

    1984 Sikh Victims: Delhi Govt Waives Power Bills Of More Than 2000 Families

    Balbir Singh Dhol Resigns From Post Of PSEB Chairman After Poor Exam Results

    Balbir Singh Dhol Resigns From Post Of PSEB Chairman After Poor Exam Results
    Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) chairman Balbir Singh Dhol has resigned from his post, an official spokesman said here today.

    Balbir Singh Dhol Resigns From Post Of PSEB Chairman After Poor Exam Results