SERP employees strike reaches 32nd day

SERP employees strike reaches 32nd day
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Highlights

Telangana SERP Employees Unions JAC leaders have demanded the State government for creating a Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) Corporation to streamline its activities. The JAC has organised a massive public meeting at Ekasila Park in Hanamkonda on Thursday, on which the ongoing strike by the SERP employees entered 32nd day. A huge number of women belonging to various Self-Help Grou

Warangal: Telangana SERP Employees Unions JAC leaders have demanded the State government for creating a Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) Corporation to streamline its activities. The JAC has organised a massive public meeting at Ekasila Park in Hanamkonda on Thursday, on which the ongoing strike by the SERP employees entered 32nd day. A huge number of women belonging to various Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have been attending the meeting and expressing their solidarity to the strike.

Addressing the gathering, SERP JAC State chairman Narsaiah, district chairman N Sathish Kumar, convener D Balasunder, leaders’ K Gangadhar and G Subhash have demanded the government to immediately respond to the SERP employees’ demands. They wanted the services of all the 4264 SERP HR employees working on contract basis in the State to be regularised and they should be absorbed into the government cadre. “Steps must be taken to offer the workers ‘equal pay for equal work’ based on Supreme Court guidelines and fix the minimum wage at Rs 6,700 per month,” they demanded.

“Similarly, all the employees must be given promotions based on their seniority as it has taken place in 2009 and 2010. Those working in SERP on deputation from other departments were given more salary than what was offered to the contract staff,” complained Sathish Kumar.

The system of renewing workers contracts every five years should be withdrawn. It was sad that the State government has failed to respond even though the employees were on strike since October 30 in support of their genuine demands, he added. Meanwhile the leaders of mandal and district federations of SHGs, Hymavathi, P Rajitha Ch Shobha, Ch Sunitha, Lalitha Devi, Aruna and others said the SERP employees play key role in implementing government welfare schemes. Hence their issues should be addressed and allow SHGs to function smoothly, they added.

The leaders complained that government was not releasing sufficient funds to the SERP. Abhaya Hastham scheme should be renewed and pensions must be released under the scheme. The pending interest on bank loans taken under Stree Nidhi and Pavala Vaddi scheme and must be released, they demanded.

The SERP employees contribute towards the upliftment of rural poor women. There were 50 lakh women associated with different SHGs in Telangana State. The functioning of SHGs, Village Organisations, Mandal Samakhya and District Samakhya depend on them, said Hymavathi.

The JAC leaders said that the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has promised to regularise the services of all the contract workers in the State and he must fulfil his promise. Similarly, steps should be taken to release funds to SHGs, which for the past three years were pending.

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