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Govt employees hold protest rally in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD - About 50,000 employees of the Gujarat government marched through a busy arterial road here on Sunday to protest the Bharatiya Janata Party administration’s failure to fulfil their long-standing demands.

The 400,000-odd staffers are demanding replacement of the two-year promotion policy (after 12 years and 24 years) with a three-layer scheme (after 10 years of service, followed by 20 and 30 years), mediclaim of Rs1 million for every staffer as against Rs500,000 as is the case now; increase in the retirement age from 58 years to 60 years, introduction of an educational allowance and a higher travelling allowance.

Staff union leader Vishnu Patel told Khaleej Times that after a protest sit-in and parallel flag-hoisting ceremonies on Independence Day (August 15), the peaceful rally was the third in the series of agitational programmes being launched to press for demands related to transfers, promotions, increments and allowances.

Those who participated in the protest march included all sections of government staff, ranging from Class I officers to Class IV workers, besides those belonging to the secretariat cadre, panchayats, government boards and corporations.

The rally, organised under the aegis of the Gujarat State Employees Co-ordination Committee, culminated into a public meeting where union leaders described incidents of their constant harassment by the Modi government.

Another union leader Girish Raval said the employees would hold noisy demonstrations near government offices across the state on September 4 “to wake up the deaf administration” and this would be followed by mass casual leave on September 27 and finally vote against the ruling BJP in the December assembly polls.

Union leaders said the BJP regime has also been silent so far on job security to teachers, new pay grade after 30 years, special leave for working during vacations, etc., adding that the state government which had been blowing up public money on poor welfare fairs should organise at least one ‘employees welfare mela’ to end their woes.

mahesh@khaleejtimes.com