Karnataka Forest Department outsourced workers will begin a strike on October 27 over delayed wages, lack of service security and alleged irregularities in employment benefits, with the protest starting at Aranya Bhavan in Bengaluru and later moving to Freedom Park.
The Karnataka State Forest Department Wildlife Units Daily-Wage Outsourced Employees’ Association said it would organise the “Aranya Bhavan Chalo” after its demands remained unresolved despite assurances from forest ministers. Association president A.M. Nagaraju and vice-president S.S. Harish said workers had already held three protests but claimed that departmental officials had not implemented the commitments made earlier.
The proposed strike will involve outsourced employees from the wildlife, social forestry and territorial forest divisions, according to a letter sent to Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy. The association said it had submitted its grievances to the minister during his visit to Madikeri last month, including a demand that the Forest Department pay workers directly rather than through contractors.
The workers said the current outsourcing arrangement prevents them from receiving their full wages. They claimed that employees who work through the entire month are paid for only 24 days. They also said they routinely work beyond the stipulated eight hours, including in difficult conditions involving rain, heat and inadequate basic facilities.
The association said frontline staff continue to protect forests and wildlife despite these conditions, but alleged that their work is not being adequately recognised through wages or employment protections. It also raised concerns about delayed or unequal wage payments for employees in territorial, research and social forestry units.
A central demand is the withdrawal of the outsourced employment system introduced by the department in 2017–18. The workers want the department to resume direct wage payments, provide service security to employees who have completed 10 years, and fix wages based on seniority and the principle of equal pay for equal work.
The association has also sought a formal shift system and overtime payments under labour law, arguing that wildlife-unit employees work around the clock. It wants a system under which workers receive wages for all 30 days of the month. Drivers have demanded payment of hardship allowance, which the association said had been announced but not released because officials cited the need for government funding.
Employee welfare and documentation form another part of the demands. The association alleged irregularities involving the Employees’ State Insurance and provident fund and asked the department to provide information on insurance contributions deposited into contract workers’ accounts. It also demanded identity cards, ESI cards, wage slips and proper maintenance of service records.
The proposed action highlights how essential public functions in forests and wildlife areas depend on workers employed through contractual arrangements. The association has not indicated that the strike has been withdrawn, and said workers would continue the agitation after the Aranya Bhavan protest at Freedom Park from October 27.
