Sixth Pay Commission: Bardhan urges Nitish to hold talks with striking staff

CPI general secretary A B Bardhan appealed to the Nitish Kumar government to take proper initiative to hold dialogue with the striking employees to end the 10-day indefinite strike of the non-gazetted employees, secretariat staff and fourth 
grade employees. 

The indefinite strike began on January 7, demanding implementation of the Central Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. In between, the finance department officials held talks with associations of employees which had not gone on strike.

Bardhan said that the government should enter into dialogue with the representatives of striking employees and accede to their demands. "Their demand is simple. They want cent per cent implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations," 
Bardhan said.

According to him, several states had implemented it. CPI parliamentary party leader Gurudas Das Gupta, who, along with CPI state secretary Badri Narayan Lal, accompanied Bardhan, said that the West Bengal government had also been holding talks with the employees. "Why not Bihar?" Bardhan asked, adding: "We have never said that Bihar should always remain behind. In some matters, Bihar should be ahead."

Later, Das Gupta, who is also the general secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), addressed the rally of the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation Employees' Federation held on the premises of the State Transport Corporation. Das 
Gupta said that the demands of the transport corporation employees were genuine, and, therefore, the government should implement the order of Supreme Court with regard to their demands. 

Source : Times of India.