Govt employees intensify agitation
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 17 2010: Employees of four engineering departments staged protest demonstrations at the entrance gate of their respective office premises today thereby formally joining their colleagues in piling on the pressure against the Government.

An employees body of three engineering departments also threatened to cease supply of water to both the VIP and general consumers in case their demands are not honoured at the earliest.

state Government employees and pensioners have been on strike for over three months demanding implementation of the 6th Pay Commission recommendations along with release of arrears.

A deserted look of Secretariat on the second day of MSSA strike

The protest began simultaneously from around 1.30 pm as employees of State's Public Works Department, Electricity Department, Irrigation and Flood Control Department and Public Health Engineering Department trickled out of their office rooms and assembled near the gate.

Information has been received that functionaries of JAC of AMGEO and AMTUC were also among the protestors.

Even though there is no report of altercation during the period of agitation, additional security personnel were dispatched to disperse the protesting employees.

At Electricity Department campus heated exchange of words ensued as the employees refused to leave the protest zone as insisted by the police.

The police subsequently herded away the employees from the entrance gate.

Joint Secretary (Administration) of Manipur State Electricity Department Employees' Union N Kulachandra in declaring that the Union members have joined the ongoing agitation also suggested that the State Government invite employees' representatives to iron out differences for expeditious solution to the issue.

Ruling out possibility of the department employees resorting to switching off power supply, he hinted that as the employees have decided to join the ceasework strike power supply would be automatically disrupted.

Meanwhile, Joint Co-ordinating Committee of Employees and workers of PWD/PHED/IFCD said its members resorted to office lock-out and raised slogans against the Government's alleged failure to resolve the protracted issue to ceasework strike launched by State Government employees under the banner of JAC of AMGEO and AMTUC.

A Committee statement adding demands for absorbing casual/muster roll workers of the three Departments as work-charged employees and the latter section as regular employees on top of the 6th Central pay issue, also asserted that the three PHED employees sent to jail in connection with the ongoing agitation be released without any condition.

Further demanding that terminated casual workers be reinstated, the Committee cautioned that failure to honour the demands would constraint employees of the three Department to cease water supply to the VIP and general consumers, barricade roads and seal dams.

Appealing to the general public the bear inconveniences as a consequence of the agitation, the Committee also urged for moral support to the cause of the employees.

The State Government should responsibility for any untoward incident arising out of the situation, it added.