Streets of Vijayawada swelled with the Andhra Pradesh state employees, teachers participating in a huge rally in protest of the recent pay revision proclaimed by the Jaganmohan Reddy government.
Though the state police imposed curbs citing Covid-19 situation, thousands of teachers, employees managed to reach BRTS road in the city on Thursday to make the “Chalo Vijayawada” rally successful.
Lakhs of employees are in agitation mode for few weeks now, following Reddy government's pay revision implementation, which the union leaders say, "in fact lowers their take home pay."
The employee unions had earlier served a notice to stop work indefinitely from 7 February if their demands of revoking the "unacceptable" pay revision and making public the Ashutosh Mishra commission's recommendations are not met.
The employee unions who formed a PRC struggle committee have been refusing to attend the talks initiated by the YSRCP government to resolve the matter.
Union leaders said that electricity and road transport department employees would also be joining their strike and that “the government has to bear the responsibility of any inconvenience caused to the public.”
The workers would go into a non-cooperation mode from Saturday.
CM Reddy has reviewed the employee agitation with senior officials and advisers.
Speaking to reporters, government advisor (public affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said that the employees "are complicating the issue but refusing to talk and now going for a show of strength."
The employees are refuting the ruling side claims that their agitation has the backing of some vested interests, opposition parties.
TDP president and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has accused the YSRCP of “misusing the police to make illegal, preventive arrests of the agitating employees as if they were terrorists.”
“CM Reddy should stop his autocratic approach and initiate efforts to provide an immediate solution to the issue concerning lakhs of employees. The CM is showing false figures to make the employees believe his lies about their salaries. Do the employees have no right to express their dissent against the government’s betrayal with regard to the PRC?” Naidu questioned on Thursday.
Naidu said that his TDP government gave 43 percent fitment despite severe financial problems in the aftermath of bifurcation.
The former CM further said that “for the first time in the country's history, Jagan regime gave a lesser fitment than interim relief and claimed recoveries from the salaries of employees."
"A pitiable situation arose where the employees started rejecting new PRC in favour of old salaries”
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