AMARAVATI: Refusing to budge to appeals and requests, state government employees on Monday issued a notice to launch an indefinite strike from February 7.
The Pay Revision Commission (PRC) Struggle Committee comprising key employees' associations handed over the strike notice to the principal secretary (GAD-HR) Sashibhushan Kumar. With the chief secretary Dr Sameer Sharma away in New Delhi, the employees associations' leaders met the principal secretary and handed over the notice. They refused to attend negotiations with the high-level committee constituted by the state government, comprising ministers, advisor and the chief secretary.
The union leaders demanded the government immediately resolve pay revision grievances to prevent their strike. The leaders said in the notice that they were compelled to strike as the government issued the GOs on implementation of new PRC scales without taking their objections and suggestions into consideration. They expressed serious displeasure about reduction of House Rent Allowance (HRA) slabs for employees and employees who moved from Hyderabad. They said removal of CCA and ceiling of gratuity was not acceptable to them.
The unions also alleged that wages for the contract and outsourced employees were not increased as per the equal pay for equal work concept. "The state government is solely responsible for their decision to strike, which might result in the disruption of citizen services across the state. We appeal to the government to take appropriate measures to resolve the genuine demands of the employees," said the associations in the notice. Association leader KR Suryanarayana asked the government not to take their agitation threat lightly as it involves 13 lakh employees and pensioners. AP NGO association president Bandi Srinivasa Rao objected to the attempts of the finance department to release the January salaries without their consent.
