The Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) Contractual Workers’ Union staged a massive hunger strike in front of the company’s unit at Lepetkata in the Dibrugarh district of Assam demanding a hike in wages.

Notably, the contractual workers employed under BCPL have been demanding a hike in daily wages for the past several months owing to rising costs of living.

However, no agreement could be reached between the two parties on the matter despite three meetings with the management. This resulted in the protests that took place today.

Moreover, two union leaders were not allowed to enter the BCPL campus by authorities, the protesting workers alleged.

Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2016, BCPL employs 2,300 contractual workers at its three units at Lepetkata, Duliajan and Lakwa.

A protestor said that there had been no hikes in wages in the last decade.

“We are paid bare minimum wages. We had three memorandum of settlement meetings with the BCPL management but nothing came out of it,” he said.

He added, “The general secretary and assistant general secretary of our union have been barred from entering the BCPL campus by the authorities. Their entry passes have been cancelled.”

Another protesting employee said, “We demand that they be allowed to join work otherwise we will be forced to go on a long strike which we don’t want.”

“During difficult times like the anti-CAA agitation and Covid-19, the contractual workers did their duties without a single day fail. Now it becomes the duty of the authorities to address the concerns of the workers especially when the price of essential products is touching an all-time high,” the employee added.