Srinagar/Jammu, May 7: The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) of government employees Monday said that they were are all set for the two-day strike from Tuesday with secretariat gherao on Wednesday after being disappointed with the ‘silence’ of Chief Minister over their demands.
“We were expecting a statement from Chief Minister today about our demands, but he is maintaining silence over this grave issue. We are now poised to go for tomorrow’s program as scheduled,” senior leader of JCC, Khursheed Alam told Greater Kashmir.
Alam said that around 30,000 employees are expected to participate in secretariat gherao on Wednesday.
Another senior leader of the amalgam, Abdul Qayoom Wani termed the Chief Minister’s ‘silence’ as the cold attitude of the government in solving the issue. “There is no response from them. They are compelling us to go on strike. It is the government which makes agreement and then fails to apply it,” Wani said.
Jammu and Kashmir College Contractual Lecturers’ Association has also extended full support to the JCC program on May 8 and 9. “We announce two days’ statewide strike on May 8 and 9 to press for the demands of regularization of head masters, lecturers and other teaching staff in their own pay and grade and also overdue promotion of under graduate trained teachers in the state,” said Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh Teachers Federation (AJKLTF) President Balwan Singh Jamwal.
Meanwhile, a breakaway faction of EJAC (K ) and EJAC (J) opposed the enhancement of retirement age.
“They are doing it for their own interests. Why they are marring the future of lakhs of unemployed youth. There are around 5 lakh unemployment youth in J&K. We should also think about them,” said Nazir Ahmed Langoo while sitting on a hunger strike in press enclave here.
However they said that they are with the majority of demands proposed by JCC ‘but enhancement of retirement age is not a good demand.’
Teachers Forum zone Ruhama has also supported the strike.
The working in most of the government offices in entire Jammu province is expected to be hit by the strike.
JCC leader Ram Kumar Sharma informed Greater Kashmir that a massive dharna would be held outside Press Club Jammu on Tuesday by the employees from all the government departments who have resorted to suspend their official work for two days.
“All the employees of various government departments and PSUs will assemble outside Press Club Jammu. The dharna will start at around 9:30 AM and will culminate at 1 PM,” he said, adding that similar type of dharnas would also be observed at all the district and tehsil headquarters across the state.
He further said that at around 1 PM, a delegation of around 200-300 employees would proceed towards Srinagar to join the protesting employees at Srinagar for scheduled secretariat gherao on May 9.
The JCC leaders have been campaigning for last few days for the scheduled strike call. “We have visited Kathua, Rajouri, Poonch, Udhampur and other districts campaigning for the scheduled strike call,” a leader said, adding that the employee leaders of all the districts have extended full support to the strike call.
Reiterating their demand to implement the agreement made with the employees, Ram Kumar Sharma said that the government has been adopting delaying tactics for last few months which was forcing the employees to take agitation path.
Pertinently the JCC leaders had reached an agreement with state government on September 15, 2011, following strike by employees in favour of their demand of payment of sixth pay commission arrears, enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, removal of pay anomalies, regularization of services of daily wagers, adhoc, consolidated workers engaged in various departments.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 7 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 7 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 8 May 2012 00:00:00 IST