JAIPUR: State employees have decided to go on a mass leave on December 8 in protest against the failure of Vasundhara Raje-led government in implementing 7th Pay Commission recommendations and other benefits from January 1, 2016.
The announcement was made after thousands of government employees from across the state marched from Ramniwas Garden to Civil Lines on Sunday, accusing the government of cheating and not fulfilling the poll promises made to the employees in 2013.
The state government's effort to pacify the employees by announcing arrears from January 1, 2017 on Saturday failed to deter them from venting their anger on the streets.
Gajendra Singh Rathore, president of Akhil Rajasthan Rajya Karamchari Samyukt Mahasangh, announced that this was the final battle with the state. "The decision to take a mass leave on December 8 was decided after a meeting with representatives of all 71 employees' unions. We have unanimously decided to follow this up by a 48-hour hunger strike from December 11."
From morning, employees from different parts of the state gathered at Ramniwas Garden. By noon, they proceeded towards Civil Lines via Ashok Marg holding placards and raising slogans against Raje-led government. The rally choked the traffic in the city and the police seemed unprepared to handle such a large gathering.
The employees' associations made it clear that if the government refuses to implement the revised pay as per their demands, they will pay heavily during the assembly elections next year. "The employees will boycott BJP in the bypolls in Ajmer, Alwar and Mandal. If they do not concede to our demands, the boycott will continue in the Vidhan Sabha polls next year," said Rathore, threatening that the state was playing with fire. "They are certain to lose the votes of 8.5 lakh government families and 3.5 lakh pensioners along with their family members," said Rathore.
Protesting employees accused the government of ignoring the poll promises made during the elections in 2013. "During the Suraj Sankalp Yatra as well as in the BJP's manifesto, they had made promises to state employees. But it has been four years and they have done nothing for us. If we can vote them for promises they made, we can also remove them for not fulfilling them," said Ayudan Singh Kaviya, coordinator of the protest rally. Associations also decided to hold local MLAs accountable for not fulfilling the promises.
At the protest rally, contractual employees too demanded regularization of their jobs under several departments. They contended that they were being paid less than half for services rendered by them. "Several Supreme Court orders have held that contractual workers have equal rights in terms of salaries as that of regular ones. Ideally, the state should regularise us on the basis of our experience," said Kuldeep Singh, member of the contractual workers' association.
The announcement was made after thousands of government employees from across the state marched from Ramniwas Garden to Civil Lines on Sunday, accusing the government of cheating and not fulfilling the poll promises made to the employees in 2013.
The state government's effort to pacify the employees by announcing arrears from January 1, 2017 on Saturday failed to deter them from venting their anger on the streets.
Gajendra Singh Rathore, president of Akhil Rajasthan Rajya Karamchari Samyukt Mahasangh, announced that this was the final battle with the state. "The decision to take a mass leave on December 8 was decided after a meeting with representatives of all 71 employees' unions. We have unanimously decided to follow this up by a 48-hour hunger strike from December 11."
From morning, employees from different parts of the state gathered at Ramniwas Garden. By noon, they proceeded towards Civil Lines via Ashok Marg holding placards and raising slogans against Raje-led government. The rally choked the traffic in the city and the police seemed unprepared to handle such a large gathering.
The employees' associations made it clear that if the government refuses to implement the revised pay as per their demands, they will pay heavily during the assembly elections next year. "The employees will boycott BJP in the bypolls in Ajmer, Alwar and Mandal. If they do not concede to our demands, the boycott will continue in the Vidhan Sabha polls next year," said Rathore, threatening that the state was playing with fire. "They are certain to lose the votes of 8.5 lakh government families and 3.5 lakh pensioners along with their family members," said Rathore.
Protesting employees accused the government of ignoring the poll promises made during the elections in 2013. "During the Suraj Sankalp Yatra as well as in the BJP's manifesto, they had made promises to state employees. But it has been four years and they have done nothing for us. If we can vote them for promises they made, we can also remove them for not fulfilling them," said Ayudan Singh Kaviya, coordinator of the protest rally. Associations also decided to hold local MLAs accountable for not fulfilling the promises.
At the protest rally, contractual employees too demanded regularization of their jobs under several departments. They contended that they were being paid less than half for services rendered by them. "Several Supreme Court orders have held that contractual workers have equal rights in terms of salaries as that of regular ones. Ideally, the state should regularise us on the basis of our experience," said Kuldeep Singh, member of the contractual workers' association.
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