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Andhra to go ahead with revised pay scale, govt staff to strike from Feb 7
Government has appointed a five-member committee to consult with the employees’ unions and look into their objections.
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The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to go ahead and implement its pay revision decision without any changes, however, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government has appointed a five-member committee to consult with the employees’ unions and look into their objections.
Meanwhile, the state government employees on Friday decided to go on an indefinite strike from February 7 demanding the withdrawal of the alleged arbitrary pay revision.
“The cabinet has decided that the government will implement the revised pay scales as announced by the chief minister last week. It also approved the increase in retirement age from 60 years to 62 years,” state minister for information Perni Venkatramaiah alias Nani told the reporters after the meeting.
The five-member committee will include Nani, finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, municipal administration minister Botsa Satyanarayana, state government advisor on public affairs Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and chief secretary Sameer Sharma.
The committee would study the demands of the employees and make appropriate recommendations to the government.
However, various employees’ associations of the state government which came together under the umbrella of PRC Sadhana Samithi (committee to achieve pay revision) decided to step up their agitation till the government withdraws its orders on pay revision.
The associations have decided to go on indefinite strike from February 7, after a series of agitation programmes. “We will serve the strike notice on the state government on Monday,” employees’ joint action committee chairman Bandi Srinivasa Rao said.
The meeting has decided to hold district-wise round-table conferences with all the employees on January 23, followed by rallies and protest dharnas in the district headquarters on January 25, submission of representations to Ambedkar statues on January 26, relay hunger strikes from January 27 to 30, Chalo Vijayawada rally on February 3 and non-cooperation to the government from February 5.
Apart from the employees’ strike issue, the cabinet also took other decisions, including steps to contain Covid-19 spread, launching of a new scheme – EBC Nestham, for economically backward class women under which each the family would be paid ₹15,000 per year, administrative approval for setting up of six new medical colleges at a cost of ₹7,880 crore and provision of jobs on compassionate grounds to one person from each of the family members of the employees who lost their lives.
