The state government is likely to agree with some demands of its employees after Eid-ul-Fitr, sources said here on Tuesday. They said the government would announce release of sixth pay commission arrears to employees in installments.
“Besides the demand of enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years would also be agreed upon. However, only those employees who retire after March 2013 will be entitled for the enhancement,” sources said.
Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Taj Mohi-ud-Din said government would invite employee leaders after Eid for negotiations. “We are serious in fulfilling the genuine demands of employees. However, they (employees) should also understand that the government isn’t in a position to pay arrears as we don’t have the money,” he said.
However, employee leaders rejected the government offer saying they would go ahead with their proposed protest programme September 6.
The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) has called for a three day strike from September 6 in protest against what they call state government’s lop-sided, non-serious and dilly delaying tactics of not implementing agreed demands.
Senior leader of JCC, Khurshid Alam said they would go ahead with their protest programmes after Eid. “Government has been making promises with employees for years together without fulfilling them. We will go ahead with our protests and employees will march towards Civil Secretariat on September 8 as finalized earlier,” he added.
Another JCC leader, Abdul Qayoom Wani said that till now nobody from the government has approached them. “Neither government has contacted us nor has any employee leader been taken into confidence for finalizing any roadmap,” he said.
Wani appealed the employees to gather at Pratap Park on September 8 ‘where from march towards Civil Secretariat will be taken.’
Meanwhile, opposition Peoples Democratic Party has urged the government to give up ‘confrontational part’ with its employees.
“There is a lot of merit in most of the demands made by the employees. Even the so-called calendars issued by the finance department from time to time for its employees and pensioners are not being followed,” a PDP spokesperson said in a statement.
“Similarly, the government should either concede the demand for enhancement of retirement age or convince its employees of the discrimination between the state employees and central services employees serving the state,” he added.
The spokesman said on the one hand the government is continuing its policy of back door entries into the government ‘mostly favoring those who bribe the authorities’ and on the other it has ‘failed to fulfill the commitment’ of regularizing the contractual and daily rated employees who had been promised regularization under an agreement.
Source : Kashmir Dispatch.
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