Andhra Pradesh govt employees to strike work from Feb 7 over pay revision

The Andhra Pradesh government employees and teachers on Friday announced they would launch an indefinite strike from February 7 protesting against the new pay revision orders issued by the state government on January 17 and demanded that the orders be withdrawn forthwith.

Briefing reporters after a cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said the three Government Orders have been ratified.

The various employees’ associations came together on a single platform and formed a joint PRC (Pay Revision Commission) Struggle Committee to step up their 'fight for justice'. The strike notice would be served on the Chief Secretary on Monday, the Committee leaders told reporters after two rounds of meetings here on Friday.

The Committee also announced an intensified agitation programme under which round-table conferences would be conducted in all district headquarters on January 23, followed by rallies and dharnas on the 25th.

On January 26, memorandums would be submitted at the statues of B R Ambedkar demanding immediate withdrawal of the GOs and implementation of the 11th PRC recommendations as such. Relay fasts would be organised in all district headquarters from January 27 to 30 and a 'Chalo Vijayawada' programme conducted on February 3.

The employees would begin a non-cooperation movement from February 5 in the run-up to the indefinite strike from the 7th, Committee leaders Bopparaju Venkateswarlu, Bandi Srinivasa Rao, K Suryanarayana and K Venkatarami Reddy said. They said, among other things, they would fight for scrapping of the Contributory Pension Scheme as well.

The leaders said they would invite staff of the AP State Road Transport Corporation, now under the Public Transport Department, to join the indefinite strike. "The government should immediately withdraw the GOs or at least keep them in abeyance. Otherwise, we will not even go for talks," the leaders asserted.

The Committee leaders later met Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma and denounced the pressure being exerted on the treasuries department staff to prepare salary bills for January in accordance with the new GOs. "We have requested the CS to withhold the Finance Department’s memo to treasuries officials on new salary bills," the leaders said.

They said no political party would be involved in their agitation, though members of the Legislative Council, belonging to the Progressive Democratic Front, and teachers and trade unions would be permitted to take part in the struggle.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s own media house spread a "leak" on Friday that the Cabinet decided to constitute a committee of ministers to engage the agitating employees in talks to resolve the issue.

When questioned about this, Minister Perni Venkataramaiah pleaded ignorance but said such a committee, comprising three ministers, the government advisor (public affairs) and the Chief Secretary, might have been constituted to "cajole" the employees.

"The government’s wish is to see the employees did not take to the streets. Nothing could be achieved by badmouthing or cursing the Chief Minister," Nani maintained at the post-Cabinet briefing.

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