Jammu and Kashmir Pay Hike : Third round of strike from today

The government and public sector employees would strike for three days starting Monday to mount pressure on the government for implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission report. This is for the third time in the past three weeks when employees will strike work.
The strike has been called by the Joint Consultative Committee, an amalgam of gazetted and non-gazetted employees’ associations in all the three regions of the state.
“Apart from the gazetted officers, all the employees associations in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh have vowed their support to the strike call. All the government offices will remained closed for the three days,” Khurshid Alam, president employees joint action committee (EJAC-K) said.
Head of the faction of EJAC, Abdul Qayoom Wani, also vowed support to the strike. “Complete strike will be observed by the employees to press for the implementation of the sixth pay panel report,” he said.
On Wednesday, the third of the strike, the employees would assemble at SMC office, Karan Nagar where from they would take a rally to the city center, Lal Chowk. The EJAC has also constituted a team which, they said, would monitor the strike in all districts.
Alam said the protests will only intensify if the government didn’t fulfill the promise of implementing the pay commission report. “We have held several meetings with the finance minister, Abdul Rahim Rather, who assured us that our demands would be met. But nothing substantial has been done in this regard,” he said.
He said earlier the Governor, N.N. Vohra on the basis of the report of Drabu Committee had passed a provisional order on December 27 and agreed to implement the pay panel report. The governor, he said, had then reserved the right of announcement for the new government.
Asked about the inconvenience caused to the public by frequent strikes, Alam said, “The employees are the very much part of public. Their demands are genuine and they want the promises made by the government to be fulfilled,” he said.
Apart from the implementation of the sixth pay panel report, the employees also demand enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60, removing pay anomalies, conversion of COLA to public sector employees on the pattern of DA, amendment/enhancement in the Wage Act including increase in wages of the daily wagers/casual laborers from current Rs 2,100 a month to Rs 5,000. 
All Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir Clerical Association Sunday said that it would go ahead with the proposed 3-day strike beginning February16. The meeting, headed by Nusrat Ahmad Beigh, was attended by prominent members of the Association.
The Association leadership would address employees at the Forest Complex here on Monday at 11.00 am to make its programme successful. Beigh would be taking up employees’ demands with the government in Jammu simultaneously. 
Meanwhile, School Education Non-Teaching Forum has decided to extend its full support to the strike.