Srinagar, May 21: Employees Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) on Monday finalized its three-day strike program starting Thursday and warned the State Government to take decision on enhancement of employees’ retirement age or face “intensified agitation” across Jammu and Kashmir.
JCC, representing over 4.5 lakh state employees, today finalized the strike program at a meeting attended by all its constituent groups here.
“All government offices will observe complete shutdown on May 24, 25 and 26,” said JCC member Abdul Qayoom Wani.
As per the program on May 25, senior JCC leaders supported by hundreds of members will stage protest outside civil Secretariat, the highest seat of governance. Next day, the JCC has called employees to assemble at press colony here wherefrom they will take out a protest march towards Raj Bhavan.
“If State Government fails to implement the agreement inked with its employees on September 15, 2011, JCC will intensify the agitation and force government to take a decision on our demands,” said another JCC member Khursheed Alam.
“The JCC will come up with a revolutionary program after May 26 and it will be then too late of the government to stop us. The situation will go out of control and nobody but the state government will be responsible for it.”
Angered by government’s “dilly-dally tactics” protesting employees on May 9 threatened to dislodge Omar Abdullah government if their demands were not met.
“If people can run the government with just 12 percent votes, why can't employees with 34 percent vote share dislodge it,” Alam warned on May 9.
The enhancement in the retirement age from present 58 to 60 years, regularization of daily wagers/adhoc/contractual appointees working in different government departments and removal of pay anomaly are among the main demands of the JCC. “The credibility of the government is at stake. We fail to understand why they signed agreement at first place if they were not serious on implementing it. Government is behaving like an arrogant monarch,” said JCC member Muhammad Rafiq Khanyari.
The meeting decided that not only the government offices but all educational institutions will remain closed during the three day strike program.
“We will seriously consider exempting educational institutions from the strike programs in our future anti-government agitation,” the meeting decided.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 21 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 21 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 IST