The 5,628 employees serving with over 40,000 gram panchayats in the State continue to suffer from “social insecurity” with proper salaries and benefits of Provident Fund, said D.R. Tahshildar, district president of Karnataka Rajya Gram Panchayat Naukarara Sangha (affiliated to Centre of Indian Trade Unions) here on Thursday.
Addressing employees from different gram panchayats, who converged at zilla panchayat here to submit a memorandum in support of their demands, including on fixing minimum salaries for different categories, he said the Government had not bothered to ensure minimum salary to these employees who had been working without any social security for the past several years.
Several agitations were organised in the past but the Government had not sympathised with their plight so far.
He said the lives of gram panchayat employees was turning miserable with every passing day, thanks to unabated price rise and increasing cost of living. Even the wages, whatsoever, were not disbursed regularly.
The Government had not even implemented the recommendation of additional salary grant of Rs. 9 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh to each gram panchayat as made out by the Third Finance Commission so far. Submitting the demands to the Government through the office of the zilla panchayat, he urged the Government to fix minimum salary for employees – Rs. 6,000, Rs. 5,500 and Rs. 5,000 for different categories; 60 per cent increase for Bill Collectors who served for 10 years, 50 per cent increase for assistant accounts, 17 per cent increase for panchayat development officers who served for five years and benefits of provident funds.
Sangh secretary G.M. Jainekhan and other leaders addressed the gathering.
