Work in govt offices remains paralysed for 3rd day

For the third consecutive day, the work in the government offices from Lakhnpur to Ladakh remained paralysed in the wake of state-wide pen-down strike call given by employees' trade union to press for their demands, including enhancing the retirement age from 58 to 60.

For the third consecutive day, the work in the government offices from Lakhnpur to Ladakh remained paralysed in the wake of state-wide pen-down strike call given by employees' trade union to press for their demands, including enhancing the retirement age from 58 to 60 years.

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The three-day protest call was given by joint consultative committee (JCC) against the coalition regime for its failure to implement the agreement signed between government and employee body on September 2011, including increase in retirement age, among others.

JCC has excluded essential services from the ambit of strike call.

In government offices in both Jammu and Srinagar employees staged demonstrations. Led by JCC senior leader Mohammad Gafoor Dar, the employees of various government departments, including sheep husbandry, PWD, sales tax and commercial tax, gathered on the premises of excise and taxation complex. The employees raised anti-government slogans and warned of dire consequences it their demands were not fulfilled at the earliest.

Dar warned the state government of intensifying the agitation, if their demands were not met at the esrliest.
"It appears that government is no mood to negotiate with the striking employees. So, we have decided to launch fiv-day agitation from September 17,"he said.

JCC, which represents over 4.5 lakh state employees is demanding enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60, regularisation policy for all daily wage workers, casual labourers engaged after 1994, removal of pay anomalies of clerical cadre and budgetary support to all public sector, corporations to release their salaries and other pending arrears