The Hindu : Federation defers protest plan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 08, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Federation defers protest plan

By Our Special Correspondent

HUBLI July 7. The Karnataka State Government Daily Wage Employees Federation, which had planned to lay "indefinite siege to the Vidhana Soudha" from July 10, has deferred the idea by 10 days.

This was announced here today by K.S.Sharma, President of the federation after the executive committee meeting on Sunday, in the context of the talks the federation representatives had with K.K.Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary.

The call was given to pressure the Government to issue simultaneous appointment orders while discharging the employees recruited on the basis of rural weightage as per the directive of the Supreme Court. Another idea was to make the Government take an early decision on the problems pertaining to daily wage employees and others.

According to Prof. Sharma, the Additional Chief Secretary sought time to look into the demands of the federation.

The federation had given a notice to the Government on its plans for an indefinite strike from July 12 if no action was taken by July 6. The Government invited the federation for talks on July 5. A delegation, led by Prof. Sharma and comprising Mohan Limbikai, Vice-President of the federation, and B.F.Vijapur of the Akhila Karnataka Prathamika Shikshakara Sangha, an affiliate of the All-India Teachers' Federation, among others, participated in the talks.

While making it clear that he had no authority to respond to the demands made by the federation, Mr. Mishra told the delegation that his mandate was to hear them and present their case for consideration of the Cabinet subcommittee, and appealed to them to defer their strike plan.

Prof. Sharma said that though the federation was ready for the strike from July 10, which would coincide with the start of the legislature session, it was decided to postpone the strike following the request made by the Additional Chief Secretary.

Prof. Sharma pointed out that the federation which had seen the inevitability of rural weightage employees being discharged as per the Supreme Court verdict, had told the Government that while discharging the employees, steps should also be taken to issue appointment orders. It should also ensure that there was no discrimination among the affected employees or break in service.

Prof. Sharma told the officials' committee that the State Government, while promising to safeguard the interests of the affected employees, had started the process of discharging them.

On the fate of daily wage employees appointed after July 1, 1984, Prof. Sharma drew the attention of the committee to the assurance held out by the Chief Minister, S.M.Krishna, on the floor of the legislature that the Government would take a decision without waiting for the Supreme Court's decision after getting a report from the Cabinet subcommittee.

Going by the statement of D.B.Chandre Gowda, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, it appeared that the subcommittee was waiting for the guidelines of the Supreme Court, which was contrary to the assurance of the Chief Minister. The Supreme Court, Prof. Sharma said, had already laid down the guidelines on the regularisation of daily wage employees.

He said the federation had drawn the attention of the Supreme Court to the assurance given by the Chief Minister on the basis of which the court granted time till the third week of July to take a decision, and time was running out.

On the other demand for giving terminal benefits to daily wage employees whose services had been regularised, he said the Government had accepted it while regularising the services of graduate and diploma engineers.

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