Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Oct 6: A day after the Government in the Legislative Assembly said all demands of employees have been met, except the enhancement in retirement age, the agitating employees today slammed the Government for “lying” to the House.
“What Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather has said in the Assembly is a lie. The Government has not met all our demands that we raised with them in the September 2011 Agreement”, said Mohammad Afzal Bhat, Provincial President Jammu and Kashmir Teachers’ Forum, a union associated with Employees Joint Action Committee.
Bhat said only one demand has been met thus far which is payment of pay revision arrears, which Government has agreed to pay to the employees in five installments, out of which three have been paid.
Rather has said Government has already implemented all the demands of employees, except increasing the retirement age from present 58 years to 60 years, decision on which will be taken after considering the concerns and opinions expressed by all stake holders.
The Finance Minister also said the Government has also regularised 56,000 daily wagers who had completed seven years of service.
But, employees said, the Government has regularized those daily wagers/casual labourers who have been engaged before 1994.
“No daily wager has been regularized who were engaged after January 1, 1994, except some calculable numbers in Power Development Department,” he said.
The Forum said that Government is misleading the House as well as the people.
Meanwhile, employees held a meeting which was chaired by Joint Consultative Committee Convener, Rauf Ahmad Bhat, to decide the future course of their action.
The employees impressed upon the Government to release all the detained employees as soon as possible immediately to create a congenial atmosphere for a purposeful dialogue.
Bhat told the employees the situation was grim and has been aggravated by unprecedented arrest of the employees and their leaders.
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