Govt-staff JAC talks fructify; stir move dropped

Hyderabad: The talks between the Telangana government and the Employees’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) fructified on Wednesday, with the government taking some major decisions concerning implementation of new PRC, release of pending DAs, and consideration of the demand for the cancellation of the Contributory Pension scheme (CPC) by a panel.

Consequently, the JAC called off the proposed strike from Thursday.

State Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju instructed the head of the second Pay Revision Commission (PRC) N Sivashankar to complete the report on new pay scales expeditiously and submit the same to the government. In another big announcement, the government said that a committee would be constituted to study the demand for the cancellation of the Contributory Pension Scheme ( CPS) and called a meeting with the leaders of employees’ unions to discuss the release of pending DAs and other bills. Employees JAC Chairman V Lachi Reddy said that the Chief Secretary assured that steps would be taken to ensure the submission of the PRC report to the government by September 18.

Discussions were held between the government and JAC on the abolition of the CPS and reintroduction of the old pension scheme for all employees.

A clarity on the release of pending DAs to the government employees would come only after a meeting with the government. The government has assured that it would examine and resolve the financial and non-financial issues raised by employee and teacher unions. Lachi Reddy said that the employees’ JAC would continue the dialogue with the government until their demands are met. Welcoming the government’s prompt move to hold talks with the employees, the JAC leaders said that they would also continue their united struggle until their legitimate demands are met. Special Chief Secretary (Services) Benhur Mahesh Dutt Ekka said that in view of the Council and Assembly sessions, a meeting with JAC and members of the other employees’ associations would be held from Sept 18 to discuss the demand for the release of DAs and other bills in a phased manner. The state govt has already informed the employees unions about the financial challenges faced by the govt in the context of releasing funds and clearing pending bills of the retired employees.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India