Hyderabad: The state government has warned its employees not to go on mass leave on September 1 as they are planning to do to demand abolition of the contributory pension scheme.
Union leaders that owe allegiance to the ruling party are the ones conveying the “government’s warning” to employees, asking them not to go on leave and instead hold protests during the lunch break.
However, the 1.25 lakh employees who are covered under the new Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are keen to strike work by going no a day’s leave, despite threats by the state.
The other 2.25 lakh employees covered under the old pension scheme have decided to extend moral support to the strike by wearing black badges and taking part in lunch-hour protests.
Staff: Protest will lead to confrontation
Employee leaders who are now part of government, namely Mr G. Deviprasad (chairman, TS Beverages Corporation), V. Srinivas Goud (TRS MLA), and TNGOs president K. Ravinder Reddy have been assigned the task of convincing employees to withdraw their leave applications.
PS employees said that these leaders are telling the employees that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is angry with the mass leave plan, which will dent the image of the TRS government being an ‘employee friendly’ government by announcing higher salary hikes, payment of PRC arrears, special increment to employees during the past three years.
The staff is being told that going on mass leave will lead to a confrontation with the CM and the TRS government, which will harm the interests of employees in the long run. The government has made it known that it will not grant leave, will cut their salary if they are absent and enter a negative remark in their service record, which will affect increments, transfers and promotions.
Undeterred by these threats, president of the CPS employees’ union, Sthitha Pragna, insists on the workers' right to strike.
