Rajasthan government employees go on mass leave

Jaipur, Dec 8 (IANS) Government offices in Rajasthan wore a deserted look on Friday with state government employees going on mass leave, pressing for their demands, including implementation of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations from January 1, 2016.

With even the government in-service doctors also on mass leave, work in government offices from the Secretariat to panchayat level to hospitals was affected.

Employees of all departments, except a few from the emergency departments, joined hands to make the protest a success, said Gajendra Rathore, convener of Akhil Rajasthan Rajya Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti.

The Samiti has raised a seven-point charter of demands.

"The government should implement the recommendations of the Pay Commission from January 1, 2016, and we want that pay matrix for state employees should be as per the Centre.

"As both these demands are unmet, all employees of the state government are standing in unison and hence almost all departments have showed cent per cent absenteeism today. I am thankful to all of them for standing together," he said.

The "unexpected payout and the anti-employee policies" of the government have been protested against in unison here, said Rathore.

On December 2 this year, the state government announced that it would provide benefits, under seventh pay panel recommendations, to its nearly 12.5 lakh employees and pensioners with effect from January 1, 2017.

Protesting against this announcement, a large number of state government employees gathered at Ram Niwas Garden here on December 3 to take out a rally to Civil Lines area.

According to Rathore, on December 11 (Monday), the employees will observe a 48-hour fast. On December 12, they will observe a pen-down protest, and on December 13, there will be a massive protest at district headquarters.

The failures of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in meeting its promises will be highlighted on this occasion, he said.