The Joint Action Committee of Telangana Employees, Gazetted Officers, Teachers and Pensioners has urged the State government to take immediate steps to resolve the ongoing impasse over the ongoing strike by the employees of the State owned Road Transport Corporation which entered the 13th day on Thursday.
A delegation of the JAC members headed by Telangana NGOs Association president K. Ravinder Reddy called on Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi on Thursday afternoon and briefed him about the ongoing strike. He assured the JAC’s support to the TSRTC employees and said the joint action committee would stand by the agitating employees.
He recalled that the High Court too had directed the State government to take steps to end the ongoing strike. The JAC would participate in the State-wide bandh call given by the TSRTC unions on October 19.
Support to strike
The TNGOs president said there was no provision for “self-dismissal” in the existing rules and exhorted the agitating TSRTC employees not to lose their courage on this account.
The JAC also submitted a charter of demands relating to employees and pensioners to the Chief Secretary and said it was not averse to taking to agitational path if their demands were not conceded. The Chief Secretary was briefed about the problems faced by the employees as also the pressure being mounted on the staff of the Revenue Department on account of increased workload.
The government should take steps to implement pay revision for the employees and it should also announce interim relief for them at the earliest. Steps should be taken to bring back the employees of Telangana origin working in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh while the government should keep its promise of enhancing the retirement age from the existing 58 to 61.
Positive response
He said the Chief Secretary responded positively to the issues raised by the employees and they were confident that their issues would be resolved after October 21, the day of byelection in the Huzurnagar Assembly constituency. “We are hopeful that the government will resolve our issues before the month-end. But we are prepared to take to agitational path, including going on strike, if our demands are not conceded within specific time frame,” he said.
Telangana Gazetted Officers Association president Mamata recalled that the representatives of the employees called on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and they were hopeful that steps would be initiated on their demands after the completion of Huzurnagar byelection.
