Allow us to work from home: Secretariat staff

VIJAYAWADA: Secretariat employees are a worried lot after two of their colleagues reportedly died from Covid-19 this weekend. As such, they are requesting the state government to allow them to work from home. 

G Ravikanth, who worked as a section officer in the General Administration Department, and V Padma Rao, an assistant secretary in the Finance department, lost the battle to the contagious disease. Rao and his wife, also a government employee, were undergoing treatment for Covid-19. 

Speaking to TNIE, AP Secretariat Employees president Venkata Rami Reddy, who is now in home isolation after testing positive, said the increasing number of cases has created an unease among the secretariat staff.  

“Including outsourcing employees, around 3,000 people work at the Secretariat. Of them, 30 have tested positive. Results of some others are yet to arrive,” he said. 

In view of the worsening situation, the employees are requesting the government to allow them to work from home. “If that’s not possible, at least allow those above 50 years of age or are keeping ill and have medical complications to work from home,” Venkatarami Reddy appealed to the government.