Tamil Nadu State Government- Govt fires Salvo Ahead of Government Employees Strike for Hike

Tamil Nadu State Government- Govt fires Salvo Ahead of Government Employees Strike for Hike

CHENNAI: Banking transactions as well as the State government official machinery are likely to be hit as both bank and State government employees threaten to strike work on Tuesday even as the Tamil Nadu government termed the strike by government workers as ‘illegal’.

M Anbarasan, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association, said that government offices, colleges and schools would be affected as nearly 10 lakh employees were likely to participate in a day-long strike, demanding implementation of Seventh Pay panel recommendations.

Anbarasan said that agitations would be launched in 300 to 400 places across the State on Tuesday demanding implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations on a par with Central government employees. The government employees are also demanding 20 per cent immediate interim relief before the implementation of the Pay Commission recommendations. The government has warned the employees that action would be initiated as the strike violated the Tamil Nadu Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1973.

In a circular to all secretaries to the government, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan has said that disciplinary action will be initiated against the government officials participating in the strike. “The absence of employees belonging to recognised or unrecognised service associations of teachers and government employees will be considered unauthorised and they are not entitled to pay and allowances on the basis of the principle ‘no work, no pay’,” she said. She also said that part-time employees on daily wages and on consolidated pay would be liable to be discharged from service. She also urged the secretaries to deny casual leave for the State government employees on August 22.

Abarasan said the strike would continue on Tuesday and a meeting held on August 26-27 to prepare for indefinite strike from September 7.Meanwhile, a total of 55,000 bank employees across the State will join the nationwide strike on Tuesday to protest the plan to privatise public sector banks.

 JACTO strike call: security for those who work

In view of the strike called by the Joint Action Council of Teachers’ Organisations (JACTO) and the Government Employees Organisations (GEO) on Tuesday, security has been provided for staff attending work at the head office and all zonal offices of the Directorate of Government Examinations (DGE). According to the DGE media note, if anyone threatened the workers attending official work, complaints could be lodged with the director through the mobile phone number 9444216250. The workers had been asked not to abstain from official work and proper security had been provided for those coming to office, the note added.

Source: IE