DEMANDS: Members of South Kanara Beedi Workers' Federation protesting in front of the office of the Department of Central Excise at Attavar in Mangalore on Tuesday .

MANGALORE: Beedi workers under the auspices of the South Kanara Beedi Workers' Federation staged a protest outside the office of the Central Excise Commissioner at Attavar here on Tuesday and urged the Centre to fulfil their demands.

The workers led by J. Balakrishna Shetty and Sukumar, president and secretary, respectively, of the federation submitted a memorandum, addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to the Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Central Excise.

The protest is part of a nation-wide protest led by the All India Beedi Workers' Federation.

In the memorandum, workers urged the Centre to withdraw the concession in duty given to those units which manufacture less than 20 lakh beedis a day. Instead, duty should be imposed on every beedi manufactured, they said in the memorandum.

The federation also demanded that the Government drop Section 1 (3) of the Beedi and Cigar Labourers' Act, 1966, by amending the Act.

The Government should impose duty on sale of tobacco at warehouse level and the duty should be imposed on every kilogram of tobacco.

The memorandum urged the Prime Minister to bring all beedi workers under the Employees Provident Fund Act. Beedi workers should be given identity cards and minimum wages.

The memorandum said that owners of beedi units should provide work to beedi workers for six days a week.

Mr. Sukumar said that beedi workers at Moodbidri, B.C. Road and Belthangady, in the district also staged a protest.

Union stages dharna

Udupi Staff Correspondent reports:

The Udupi Zilla Beedi Workers' Union, affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) staged a dharna outside the taluk office here on Tuesday demanding the fulfilment of its various demands.

In a memorandum submitted to the Udupi tahsildar, Muralidhar, President of the union Sadhu Amin said that the Government should provide minimum wages to beedi workers. There should be uniform tax on beedis, he said.

Tax concession on mini cigarettes should be withdrawn, the union said.

Facilities

The memorandum urged that facilities provided by the Labour Welfare Department be extended to all the beedi workers.

General Secretary of Udupi district unit of CITU, P. Vishwanath Rai, was present.

The union took out a procession from the Kalpana Bus Stand to the Taluk Office.

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