New Delhi: Central government employees have gone on a day-long strike with other sections of the working class across the country on Friday to press their several demands, including hike in minimum pay.
Central government employees participated in the strike on Friday to press their several demands, including raising minimum pay from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000.
“This strike is against the central government, this strike is for the cause of the working people and we participated in the strike to press our several demands, including raising minimum pay from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000 under the 7th Pay Commission,” said a leader of the confederation of central government employees and Workers.
“Our strike will be 100 percent successful … we will prove that this strike is the world’s largest ever.”
The Trade Unions leaders said about 180 million workers, including state bank employees, school teachers, central government employees like postal workers, income tax department and other department workers, participated but the figure could not be independently verified.
The media said transport and essential services such as power and water supplies were not affected in major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai. Private banks were operating and schools and colleges were open.
The strike had its greatest impact in the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala, ruled by the opposition Indian National Congress and Left Democratic Front respectively.
Daily life was also hit in the eastern state of Bihar, where shop and business establishments were shut and train and road services were disrupted by union activists.
More than 20 protesters were arrested after they damaged two government buses in West Bengal, senior police official Anuj Sharma told us.
The central government employees demanded hike in minimum pay from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000, raising fitment factor 3.68 times from 2.57 times approved by the government based on the pay commission recommendations and the pension contributions be fully borne by the central government.
On Friday morning, all the officials of postal, Income Tax and other central government departments gathered outside their offices shouting slogans under the banner of National Joint Council of Action (NJCA), is an umbrella organisation of various Central Government employees’ unions, including Railways, post and telegraph and Income Tax.
“Under the fitment formula, the government multiplied the minimum wage of Rs 7,000 fixed in the last pay commission with 2.57 and arrived at a minimum pay of Rs 18,000 per month. While we are demanding for the fitment formula of 3.68, which will result in minimum monthly pay about to Rs 26,000,” said a leader of the Income Tax Gazetted Officers Association.
“The New Pension Scheme (NPS) implemented with affect from 01.01.2004, is nothing but a “No Pension Scheme”, as it is fully dependent on the vagaries of share market forces. So, we are demanding the restoration of old pension system,” he added.
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