A huge number of government employees from across the State, who gathered for Chalo Vijayawada agitation on the BRTS Road here on Thursday, sent a clear signal that they will not be backing off from the indefinite strike proposed to be launched on February 7 unless the recommendations of Pay Revision Commission (PRC) are revealed and the GOs through which Revised Pay Scales for 2022 (RPS) were notified, are cancelled.
PRC Sadhana Samiti leaders Bandi Srinivasa Rao, Bopparaju Venkateswarlu, Venkatarami Reddy and K.R. Suryanarayana, who spearheaded the agitation, said the government’s indifference to their demands strengthened their resolve to completely stop cooperating with it from February 5 and go on strike at the stroke of midnight on February 6, for which a notice had already been served.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy himself should talk to the leaders of the employees’ associations instead of throwing the ball back into the court of the Ministers, IAS officers and advisers, who were to be blamed for failure of several rounds of negotiations, the employees associations’ leaders said.
The employees would not have taken to the streets had the government acted in a transparent manner, but it resorted to double-speak on the contentious issues. Unfortunately, some Ministers and YSR Congress Party leaders alleged that the employees raised the banner of revolt at the behest of vested interests and even attributed political motives, the PRC Sadhana Samiti leaders regretted.
Addressing the massive congregation of employees, Mr. Venkateswarlu said the revised pay scales were replete with wrong calculations and the government had apparently taken the employees for granted. It should at least now wake up to the ground reality and avert the strike. The employees tried hard to avoid a confrontation, but they were left with no option except to strike to make the government concede their legitimate demands.
The Chief Minister should intervene and solve the employees’ problems and appreciate the fact that they were protesting peacefully against the deprivation of their rights, said Mr. Srinivasa Rao.
Mr. Suryanarayana said the government should give up its stubborn attitude and refrain from suppressing the employees’ agitation. The government would do well to make a sincere effort to break the deadlock instead of causing much heartburn among the employees. “The dispute can be settled amicably, for which the government should have the willpower”, Mr. Suryanarayana added.
