Mass leave paralyses civil court

WORK AT Bhopal civil court remained paralysed on Tuesday as Class III and Class IV employees proceeded on a two-day mass casual leave from Tuesday to protest against increase in their working hours and cut in holidays. Civil court employees throughout the State joined the stir.

WORK AT Bhopal civil court remained paralysed on Tuesday as Class III and Class IV employees proceeded on a two-day mass casual leave from Tuesday to protest against increase in their working hours and cut in holidays. Civil court employees throughout the State joined the stir.

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The High Court has increased working hours of civil court staff including judges by two hours and also reduced their holidays. Class III and class IV employees argue that while judges had been given several additional facilities for extra work, they have not been given any such facility.

They are demanding 50 per cent additional dearness allowance (DA) of their basic salary as compensation against increase in working hours and cut in holidays.

One of the employees’ leaders said their working hours had been raised by two hours, leave on third Saturday of each week has been withdrawn and they will have to be present on one Sunday each month for Lok Adalat.

Besides, holidays declared by the district collector will not be applicable for employees of the civil court. The one-week holiday during Diwali has also been reduced to just two days.

He said if they were given additional incentives to work more, they would not have any grudge but otherwise, they would work in the same way as their counterparts in other State Government offices.

Employees will continue to be on leave on Wednesday. Following this, they will boycott work for half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening from January 4 to 6 and later hold a one-day hunger strike in front of M P High Court on January 9.

In the third phase of agitation in the event of a deadlock on the issue, they will proceed on indefinite strike on January 15.