Govt staff, teachers stage agitation

BHUBANESWAR: Government employees and teachers from across the state took out a rally here on Saturday and staged a demonstration in front of Raj Bhawan to seek fulfillment of their demands.
The agitators were demanding the immediate publication of pay anomalies committee report, abolishment of contractual appointment system, fixation of retirement age at 60 and implementation of pension scheme for employees those who joined on and after January first 2005.They also sought incentive allowance for employees working in Maoist-affected areas and 10 per cent House Rent Allowance (HRA) on pay for employees working at government offices staring from gram panchayat to district collector.
The leaders of Odisha State Government Employees Co-ordination Committee, which had called the agitation, warned the government that they would further intensify their agitation if their demands were not taken up seriously.
"The state government has been sitting over our demands for the past three years. It has not considered even a single demand so far. We would be forced to intensify our agitation and go for cease work at all district collectors' offices if there is no response from the government on our demands," said Pratap Chandra Mishra, president of Government Employees Co-ordination Committee.
Mishra said 37 months have passed since the state set up the pay anomalies committee to submit its report on pay anomalies on sixth pay commission award within six months. He, however, lamented that the government was yet to publish the report. Similarly Mishra said the Centre and 23 states have already increased retirement age of its employees to 60. But ironically the state government is mum on the issue, he said.
The working president of the coordination committee, Dwarikanath Mohanty chaired the meeting at the rally. General secretary of employees' coordination committee, Nirmal Das and vice president of All India State Government Employees Federation, Sukomal Sen addressed the rally. Later a delegation of coordination committee submitted a memorandum to the governor.