Patna, May 23: Central trade unions in Bihar will organise a convention on June 24, followed by a demonstration against the Bihar government for “ignoring un-organised labour” in the state.

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) state general secretary Chakradhar Prasad Singh appealed to the union members to intensify their agitation against the Nitish administration, accusing it of failing to provide appropriate wages to around 2.5 crore un-organised labourers across the state.

“The present government is patting itself for the development work but the ground realities are different. Price rise is killing the poor people but the Nitish Kumar-led government is not showing any seriousness on the issue. He keeps meeting industrialists and corporate bigwigs but he does not have the time to hold a single meeting with the trade union members,” said Chakradhar.

He added: “The state government has scrapped 18 municipal corporations across the state where un-organised workers comprise a major percentage. Now they are targeting the state electricity board and transport department. We have come to know that the government is planning to hand over the state electricity to a private firm, which will further raise the price of power in the state. The un-organised sector continues to be exploited and they are not even paid the minimum wages.”

All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) state secretary Ranvijay Kumar said the government should have taken the trade unions and people of the state into confidence before taking the decision to scrap municipal bodies. “Any decision, which is likely to slow down the development of the state should be avoided,” he added.

Demanding minimum wages for the unorganised worker, Ranvijay said: “At present, the un-organised worker receives just Rs 124 per day which is a meagre amount. We want the state government to hike it to Rs 300 per day so that the workers can feed their family.”

Ajay Kumar, the general secretary of Bihar State Road Transport Corporation Employee Federation (BSRTCEF), said: “The state government has recently launched the ring road bus service on a public-private-partnership mode with Eden Transport, Calcutta, but very few people know that it is a waste of public money. The state government has financed every bus. The loan was taken from a government bank and the guarantor is also the state government. Where does the private company come into the picture. This is being done intentionally to promote the private company on the name of PPP.”