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| Govt offers for talks; employees announce strike from Apr 3 | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Apr 2: Even as the State Government has invited the representatives of employees for second round of talks at Civil Secretariat tomorrow, Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC)-two different factions of the employees-today announced to go ahead with the proposed strike call in protest against the government's indecisiveness and its alleged backtrack from agreement. The faction-ridden employees have also threatened to go on indefinite strike if the government fails to fulfill their demands during the proposed strike period. Addressing media persons, though separately, here, the representatives of both the associations have again appealed the government to fulfill the already agreed demands of the employees failing which they would intensify their agitation. "The state government should rethink and accept the genuine demands of the employees before April 4 otherwise the JCC would have no option other than to go on seven days strike across the state," Jaswant Singh, senior JCC leader told reporters here.
Flanked by representatives of various employees unions, the leader said, "The emergency services have been kept away from the purview of proposed strike starting from April 5. However, in case, if their demands are not fulfilled till April 11 the pen down strike would be intensified and it might be declared indefinite."
He further alleged that the government has been backtracking from its commitments made with the JCC leaders during a meeting of cabinet-sub-committee chaired by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rathor on March 19, 2010 at Jammu." He maintained, "The Cabinet Sub-Cabinet had sought ten days of time for the mitigation of demands. But the government failed to fulfill its commitment." The JCC leader further said, "The employees have tried their best to avoid direct confrontation with the government to the extent it was possible so far but nothing was done to accept (the demands of employees which forces them to go on strike."
Meanwhile, Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) alleged that all party meeting called by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was a "fruitless exercise" and an attempt to divert the attention of the employees from their basic issues. The representatives of these organizations expressed its serious concern over "indifferent attitude" of the State Government vis-a-vis non-implementing the commitments/agreements, left out the cabinet decision made with the employees representatives. "All Party meet called by the Government was only to divert the attention of the general masses and particular of the employees. As the government has many times held dialogue with the employees representatives and had assured to mitigate the suffering to settle the pending demands of the State and public sector employees, but has not come out with the expectations and not fix the modalities and giving rise to different speculations and rumors amongst the employees ranks," they alleged.
Describing the ongoing struggle of the employees as "decisive, Ram Kumar Sharma, senior EJAC leader said, "We have decided to go ahead with our proposed four-day-long strike to be commenced from April 3. As the government has failed to concede our demands, the employees have left no option but to go on strike for the settlement of the demands." He charged, "The employees from time to time focus the attention of the State government during symbolic strikes observed by the employees on January 12, 2010, February 16 and 17 2010 and March 11 to 13, 2010, but the administration has not taken the employees suffering seriously."
The employees have been demanding release of Sixth Pay Commission arrears, release of pending 5 per cent HRA, issuance of order for regularization of all temporary, adhoc, consolidate, contractual employees and daily rated workers before and after 1994, removal of pay anomalies of various cadres, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years and conversion of COLA into DA of PSU.
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