The Government employees of various departments protesting under the banner of State Employees Joint Council Uttarakhand (SEJCU), has decided to continue their indefinite strike on the eve of Diwali on Saturday.
Although State Government has assured them that they would take a decision about the assured promotion and grade pay in a meeting on November 22 but employees are not sure about the promises. They are demanding that their grade pay should be increased by `2,000 per month, which means `4,800 in place of earlier `2,800.
About two lakh Government employees, 57 departments under the banner of SEJCU will continue their State-wide protests in Dehradun and other district headquarters unless their demands are met, they added.
The council spokesperson Arun Pandey said works in Government offices were negatively affected since the employees went on an indefinite strike on October 17. Essential services in all the departments have been hampered in the State.
“The demands include the removal of pay anomalies among Government employees, timely promotions, fixed age limit at 62 years and others. The association members have decided to continue the protest unless and until Government releases the GO,” he added. He appealed all the Government employees to assemble at protest site on holiday in support of the pending demands.
Pandey claimed that SEJCU is being supported by unions of employees in various departments, including Uttarakhand Irrigation Union, Uttarakhand Village Panchayat Development Officer Union, Uttarakhand lekhpal Union, Uttarakhand Medical lab Technician Union, Uttarakhand Transport Employee Union and other bodies. In his address to the gathering, Pandey said that as per his sources, most of their demands are being addressed but the protest will continue until the State Government issues GO to meet the demands.
According to Arun Pandey spokesperson of the association, “The members of the association will continue their protests until and unless Government releases the Government Order (GO)”. Their demands include the removal of pay anomalies among State Government employees, timely promotions, fixing the age limit for State employees at 62 years and others. Government employees said that there is no use of celebration when our basic demands are consistently ignored by the Government.
However, these employees have been pressurising State to fulfil their three top demands, including providing at least three promotions to them during their service period, providing travelling allowances (TA) of minimum `1,200 and increasing their pay scale.
President of the association, Pralad Singh said that no positive response has been received yet, after the number of meetings held with the Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar. Protesters said that essential services in all the departments would be dysfunctional till demands are met, all the Government offices will be closed in support.