After pleas to the Delhi Government to take heed of their demands for better pay went unheard, over 15,000 Government employees belonging to the Delhi Administrative Subordinate Services (DASS) have decided to go on one-day strike on December 3. The DASS cadre employees also decided that they will neither vote for the BJP nor the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Assembly polls in the national Capital. The employees have been demanding implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations and restructuring of the cadre for more avenues for promotion.

The DASS cadre employees went on hunger strike on September 16 but nothing happened despite assurances by the Chief Secretary of Delhi. The Chief Secretary of Delhi has written three letters to Ministry of Finance, requesting to delink pay scale of common category employees of Delhi Government from other Union Territories. The recent letter was written to Ministry of Finance on November 26. 

The employees of DASS cadre said that they will sit on dharna at Jantar Mantar on December 3. “We have given a slogan “chalo jantar mantar’, this time,” said employees.

“In case these demands are not met, the movement will be intensified and the functioning of important departments may get affected. The employees can never be held responsible as onus is on the Government to fulfil these legitimate demands in a time-bound manner. The Government is competent enough to resolve all these issues, if they wish,” said employees of DASS cadre.

According to employees, AAP Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his 49 days tenure has promised to fulfill their demand but nothing has happened. The DASS members feel they have been discriminated against both by the State Government as well as by the Centre for the past many years.

“It is evidently clear that Delhi has a special status as compared to other Union Territories, therefore, Government of NCT of Delhi would like to request the pay scales of common category employees of Delhi may be delinked with other Union Territories and notified separately as Government of Delhi has its own consolidated fund and expenditure on this account and should be borne by the State Government. In other words no financial assistance would be required from Central Government,” Chief Secretary said in his letter.

The Chief Secretary has stated in the letter that he had raised the issue with the Home Secretary in 2013 but the concurrence of the Government of India is still awaited.