Kashmir employees extend strike till April 19

JAMMU - Ignoring a fresh offer for talks and warnings of termination of services, Jammu and Kashmir’s striking government employees Sunday extended their agitation till April 19 for demanding arrears due to them under the Sixth Pay Commission.

“It is a struggle that we cannot leave midway,” said Ravinder Gupta, a leader of the 450,000 striking employees, after calling up mediapersons in Jammu Sunday to announce the extension of the strike.

The Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) which is leading the stir has announced that protesters will lock all offices Monday. The employees have also planned a march to the civil secretariat.

An official spokesman said Saturday evening that the government would “terminate the services of employees if they did not report to work by April 12 (Monday)”.

The strike, which started April 3, prompted the government to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) April 5. The strike was earlier scheduled to end April 6 but was extended up to April 12 by the EJAC.

The protesting employees are demanding arrears as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission and the enhancement of the retirement age from the present 58 to 60 years. They are also demanding house rent allowance (HRA) on par with the central government employees.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday appealed to the striking employees to resume work.

Speaking on the last day of the budget session in the assembly, Omar reiterated his commitment to “give arrears to the employees”.

The state government requires Rs.4,200 crore to pay the employees’ dues but it does not have the money to do so.