Chandigarh Punjab government employees went on a five-day pen-down strike from Wednesday against the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, while the opposition SAD also attacked the Congress regime for allegedly “committing fraud” on its employees. The protesting employees are objecting to the formulae used in calculation of the increase in pay.
“Government employees, including superintendents and clerical staff, across the state will be on the pen-down strike till June 27,” said Sukhchain Khera, convener, Joint Action Committee of state government employees, adding that the pay commission recommendations were not acceptable to them. They also raised slogans against the government.
Last week, the Punjab government had decided to implement a majority of the recommendations of its Sixth Pay Commission with effect from January 1, 2016, a move that will benefit over five lakh serving and retired employees. The disbursal of salaries and pensions under the new structure will begin from July 1. The implementation would entail 2.59-time increase in salaries and pensions over the previous pay commission recommendations, with an annual increment rate of 3 per cent. “We are demanding the pay should be hiked by a multiple of 2.74,” said Khera, adding the pay hike, otherwise, was negligible.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded that the Punjab government must convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha, immediately, to explain the fraud meted out to state government employees in the name of the Sixth Pay Commission. “Employee associations are pointing out anomalies and instances of injustice. All these must be resolved within a month,” the SAD added.
{{/usCountry}}The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded that the Punjab government must convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha, immediately, to explain the fraud meted out to state government employees in the name of the Sixth Pay Commission. “Employee associations are pointing out anomalies and instances of injustice. All these must be resolved within a month,” the SAD added.
{{/usCountry}}SAD senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia said chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh should explain why allowances of some categories of employees had been stopped altogether. “Why has the state created different categories of employees by enforcing the Central Pay Commission on new recruits. The chief minister should also tell why thousands of contract employees, whom he had committed to regularise five years ago, still continue to be on contract,” Majithia added.
He also sought immediate dismissal of finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal. “Employees across the State have expressed their no-confidence in the finance minister by holding a pen-down strike followed by a walkout from government offices. The CM should sack Manpreet immediately so that talks with employees can begin.”
“It seems that not only employees, but even the government has been deceived, as the pay commission report which is being sold as a bonanza for employees, in fact is discriminatory towards them,” Majithia claimed, adding that Non Practicing Allowance (NPA) of doctors must also be fully restored.