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The Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union (BIGWU) has strongly condemned the mass firing of workers from the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP), calling the dismissals a "politically motivated abuse of power."

Also, former URP manager Indar Parasaram and former minister of works and transport Rohan Sinanan both denied any knowledge of "ghost gangs" or fraudulent payments in the programme. However, both men agreed that if any wrongdoing is found, law enforcement should investigate.

In a media release, BIGWU, which represents 600 monthly-paid URP workers, said 69 of those fired had served for up to 20 years in various professional roles, including regional managers, engineers, and clerical officers.