Avtar Bhat
SRINAGAR /JAMMU, Sept 9: While police foiled the Civil Secretariat march of employees in support of their demands and detained over 400 employees before batoncharging and firing water canons at them in Srinagar today, the employees held protest demonstrations at district headquarters across the Jammu region in support of their demands.
At Srinagar, police today foiled Civil Secretariat march of employees in support of their pending demands and detained over 400 employees before baton-charging and firing water cannons at them.
The employees, under the banner of Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), an amalgam of several employee unions, had assembled at Municipal Park here since morning and were attempting to march towards Civil Secretariat.
The employees are demanding the Government must implement the agreement reached between them and the former two years ago, which includes extension of the retirement age from 58 to 60, regularization of daily wagers and removal of pay anomalies in the clerical cadre, budgetary support for public sector undertakings among others.
But a heavy contingent of police deployed there with batons and shields intercepted the protesting employees. Police used coloured water canons to disperse them.
However, some employees led by president Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC-Q), Abdul Qayoom Wani, breached the police cordon and reached near Polo Ground where police swung into action, cane charged them and bundled them into vans.
They were lodged in different police stations in the city, including Kothi Bagh, Ram Munshi Bagh and Shaheed Gunj.
“We want the Government to fulfill its promises made to five lakh employees through an agreement. We will go for an intensified agitation if the Government’s attitude towards the employees doesn’t change,” president EJAC-Q, Abdul Qayoom Wani told the employees gathering before taking out a protest rally.
Shabir Hussain, another JCC leader, said ten agitating employees were injured in police beating.
“The injured are lodged in Kothi Bagh police station, and police doesn’t provide us the transport to take the injured to hospital,” Hussain said.
He said that during the protests, police detained over 400 employees and lodged them in different police stations in the city.
JCC has called a three-day protest programme last week to press for their demands. The State employees will hold a complete lock out for two days from today, Hussain said.
The employees have been protesting from the last four years against the Government for not fulfilling their demands.
Due to the strike called by the employees, work in most of the Government offices was affected throughout Kashmir.
The employee leaders of Lecturers Forum Mushtaq Sopori and Bashir Ahmad Bhat were also leading the protests. They expressed displeasure over Government’s approach towards employees.
The employees in Jammu region held demonstrations at all district headquarters to garner support for two days strike, the call of which was given by Employees Joint Consultative Committee (EJCC) in protest against the failure of Government to implement the agreement reached by it with EJCC leaders last year.
In Jammu a massive demonstration was held by employees under the aegis of EJCC in front of Divisional Commissioner’s Office at Panama Chowk here to register their protest against the dilly dallying tactics adopted by Government in implementing the agreement and settling the demands.
The employees resolved to make the two days strike tomorrow and the day after tomorrow a total success. The protestors raising slogans in support of their demands and against the callousness of the Government warned to intensify the agitation in case the Government continues its rigidity on agreed demands.
The protest at Jammu was led by Kuldeep Singh district president JCC.
Addressing the protestors he said the Government was not implementing the agreement signed between High Powered Committee led by then Advisor to Chief Minister, Davinder Singh Rana and JCC leaders led by Abdul Qayoom Wani, Khurshid Alam, Rouf Ahmed and Gafoor Dar on September 30.
He said this has forced the State Government employees to go on strike. In the agreement a Committee headed by Chief Secretary was appointed to submit its report on increasing the retirement age from 58 years to 60 years. This Committee has submitted the report and it has not been implemented, he added.
He said second Committee was appointed to consider the pay anomalies of clerical staff working in 6500-10,500 grade and other cadres which has also submitted the report to the Government. The other demands of JCC included regularization of daily wagers, need base workers and contractual workers who have completed seven years of service, conversion of COLA into DA in favour of Public Sector employees.
The other JCC leaders who addressed the demonstration included S Puran Singh, Manhor Singh, Surinder Mehta, S Inderjit Singh, Pawan Sharma, Yash Paul, Balbir Singh, Angrez Singh, Kamal Kumar, Ganesh Dutt, Joginder Sharma, Pankaj Sapolia, Davinder Singh, S T P Singh, Manohar Sharma and Surjit Singh.
Meanwhile, Gafoor Dar who also heads NTUF said that the total strike will be held in Kashmir valley for two days tomorrow and day after tomorrow and the situation in two South Kashmir districts will not affect the strike at any cost.
He said the JCC in its emergency meeting here this evening decided to go ahead with the strike in entire State for two days the call of which was given earlier. Dar also strongly condemned the police lathi charge and firing of water canons on protesting employees at Sher-e-Kashmir Park Srinagar today.
Reports coming from other districts said that employees gathered in front of DC offices at all district headquarters of Jammu province and staged a protest. At Doda the protest was held in front of Mini Secretariat.
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