Hundreds of Gram Panchayat workers virtually laid siege to the office of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zilla Panchayat here on Friday over a host of demands that continued to remain unaddressed despite several agitations.
The agitation was organised by Karnataka State Gram Panchayat Employees’ Association (KSGPEA) affiliated to Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).
Enraged by the absence of CEO despite prior information about the agitation, the workers, attempted to break the police cordon and storm into the office, creating tense situation. Labour leader and state president of Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha (KPRS) Maruthi Manpade managed to enter the office and was later forcibly brought out by the police.
Additional Superintendent of Police, J. Papaiah who rushed to the spot mediated the negotiations between the agitators and the Deputy Secretary of ZP, Mukkanna Karigar. Upon the assurances of meeting their major demands within ten days, the employees withdrew the agitation.
Earlier, addressing the workers, Mr. Manpade unleashed a verbal attack on the CEO accusing her of defying government order and meting out injustice to Gram Panchayat workers in the district.
“Basing on the Supreme Court order, the State government had issued an order declaring all the appointments made by Gram Panchayat without prior-approval from Zilla Panchayat since 1994, illegal threatening to render 50,000 workers jobless. Owing to workers’ resistance, the government withdrew its order and decided to regularise the service and issued an order to all ZPs approve the appointments of the workers. The CEO has, however, approved a few posts at will depriving majority of sweepers, watermen, pump-operators, bill collectors and others of their legitimate job opportunities”, he charged.
He also held the CEO responsible for non-payment of salaries to most of the employees working under 165 Gram Panchayats in the district for the last 20 months.
Their demands included maintenance of service record book, promoting all the eligible employees to next higher position, paying salary dues immediately, paying salaries on or before 5th of every month, completing the pending recruitments on compassionate grounds and others.
Mr. Manpade criticised the state government for denying retrospective service seniority since 1994 in its fresh order by stating that it deprived workers of their legitimate promotion opportunities and demanded the government to recognise the service of all workers from the date of their joining so that they can avail promotions on service-seniority.
