West Bengal government employees staged a protest demanding an increase in Dearness Allowance (DA). Photo Credit: ANI
Protesters staged a sit-in at the gates of state government offices and educational institutions demanding a hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) as the day-long strike called by some organizations of West Bengal government employees began on March 10.
The protesters staged a sit-in in front of the gates of state government offices like Writers’ Building, Vikas Bhawan, Food Bhawan, Swasth Bhawan and Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
Similar scenes were also witnessed in the district headquarter town, block development offices and municipalities and panchayats as the number of people present were less as compared to other days.
“Instead of issuing notices one after the other, this government should work towards increasing the DA of state employees and bring it at par with other employees,” a protester belonging to the employees’ wing of the CPI(M) said outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation building here. Needed.” State and Centre. ,
Official sources, however, said work was not affected and employees reached office.
At Medinipur College, Paschim Medinipur, University of North Bengal, Siliguri and Shiksha Bhawan, agitators belonging to the DSO and BJP raised slogans at the main gate and tried to stop students and staff from forcibly entering the office at around 10 am.
There was an altercation and fight between the supporters of the ruling party and the agitators regarding this. All major opposition parties – CPIM, Congress and BJP – are supporting the strike called by the state government employees, while the TMC accused the opposition of disrupting the work culture despite the state’s financial woes.
The Mamata Banerjee administration has already said that no leave will be granted on March 10 and the absence will be treated as a break in service.
According to an order issued by the state finance department on March 10, 2023, all state government offices, which are provided grants-in-aid by the state, such as educational institutions, will remain open on March 10 and all employees will report for duty on March 10. will report. that day.
“No casual leave or any other kind of leave shall be granted to any employee on March 10 either in the first half of the day or in the second half of the day or for the whole day,” the order said.
“The absence of the employees on that day shall be treated as dead-non (break in service) and no pay shall be admissible unless such absence is due to hospitalization of the employees or bereavement in the family, serious illness and continued absence.” Ho by March 9,” it said.
No action on personnel running on medical leave
However, no action will be taken against employees on child care leave, maternity leave, medical leave and earned leave sanctioned before March 9, according to the order.
The protesting employees of 18 organisations, who have been demanding that DA be raised to the level of their counterparts in the central government, stuck to their decision to go on strike.
One of the leaders of the agitating organization said, “Whatever step the government takes, we will observe the strike.”
They recently conducted a 48-hour pen-down agitation on the issue, ignoring warnings of action, while several workers are on a hunger strike near Sahid Minar which continued till March 10.
West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose hoped that a suitable solution would be found for all concerned in the matter.