Employees' strike in Kashmir enters third day
Srinagar, March 11: The work in all the government offices including hospitals and educational institutes in the Kashmir was hit for the third consecutive day, today, due to the strike by the Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) and Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) against the anti-employees policies of the authorities.
A strike by nearly half a million government employees in Jammu and Kashmir seeking payment of arrears and a higher retirement age paralysed the administration for the third day Thursday, with teachers also joining the protest.
The strike was observed in hospitals, educational institutes, government offices, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and Corporations.
The healthcare system across the territory was badly hit as most of the Outpatient departments in the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital and other hospitals remained non-functional. Employees' associations held protest demonstrations and took out rallies in Jammu and district headquarters and sub-divisions in the territory.
The employees also burnt effigies of puppet Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather in protest against the step-motherly treatment.
About 450,000 state employees went on strike Tuesday, demanding payment of arrears they say the government owes them because of higher salary scales announced by the Sixth Pay Commission. They also want the retirement age to be raised from 58 to 60.
“We are not asking for something extraordinary. It is due to us, as per the authorities own promise,” Surjit Singh, a leader of the Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC), told the media in Jammu Thursday.
Muhammad Jabbar, 58, in Shangus in Islamabad district said “It is a cruel joke on the common man. I have to submit a permanent resident certificate for my son within this week, and the district office from where such a certificate is issued is closed. What am I supposed to do now?”
“We have decided to continue the struggle for our just cause. Unless the authority meets our demands, we shall announce a detailed agitational programme March 15,” a striking employee said.
The strike, which began Tuesday morning, completely paralyzed work in all government offices. Educational institutions that opened here Monday after the three-month winter break also remained closed on the first day of the employees' strike. Agencies/ IANS