For a while now, the government employees in Andhra Pradesh have been suffering due to the lack of payment of salaries, pensions and other allowances, on time. The employees have several times requested and reminded the government to do so, but the government hasn’t responded in favour until now. As a result, all the government employees have now begun an agitation over the matter.
Leaders of the AP Joint Action Committee and the APJAC Amaravati met Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma at the Secretariat and served him a notice, expressing their demands to him in person, and in the notice as well. Speaking to the media, APJAC leader Bandi Srinivasa Rao said that the government, whilst saying that it is employee-friendly, is not behaving that way.
The government is said to owe at least Rs. 1,600 Crores to the employees in the form of provident fund, general life insurance, leave encashment, and other benefits. The government has also not met the long-pending demands, including the implementation of the Pay Revision Commission recommendations. The CS is said to have assured the employees that they would get answers by December 7th. On the other hand, as per the agitation programme submitted to the government, all employees would attend work sporting black badges from December 7 to 9 in all offices, while a lunch hour demonstration would be held on December 10. Protest rallies will be organised in all talukas and revenue divisions on December 13, and dharnas would be staged across the state on December 16, and in all district headquarters on December 21. The leaders also announced that regional conferences of employees will be held at four places including Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Eluru from December 27 to January 1.