AISA alleges non-payment of wages to workers engaged in hostel construction in JNU

NEW DELHI: A Left-backed student outfit alleged on Tuesday that the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration has not paid wages of some months to the contractual workers engaged in the construction of a hostel building.

There was no immediate response from the administration to the allegation. The workers have allegedly stopped the construction work due to the non-payment of wages, the All India Students' Association (AISA) said. "Workers and supervisors who built Barak Hostel at JNU haven't been paid (wages) for 2-3 months.

Also Read | JNU placement cell organises skill empowerment workshop for students

The dues run into lakhs of rupees. Payments to daily wage workers, to small contractors, to tile workers, to electricians, to crane workers, and others are pending," the AISA alleged in a statement. It said the new hostel will help alleviate an acute accommodation crisis in the university. "Salaries are being delayed by months, and workers are threatened whenever they raise their voice.

AISA has been an integral part of the contractual workers' struggle on this campus. For the last few years, JNU administration has indulged in this habit of delaying payment to the workers," it claimed.