India News | AP Staff to Continue Stir as Pay Revision Talks Fail; Fresh Salary Credited
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. : Talks between the agitating employees and the Andhra Pradesh government on the pay revision issue ended in failure on Tuesday and later the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) Struggle Committee announced it would go ahead with the proposed agitation programme, including the indefinite strike from February 7.
Amaravati, Feb 1 (PTI): Talks between the agitating employees and the Andhra Pradesh government on the pay revision issue ended in failure on Tuesday and later the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) Struggle Committee announced it would go ahead with the proposed agitation programme, including the indefinite strike from February 7.
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The Struggle Committee leaders said the 'Chalo Vijayawada' programme, slated for February 3, would be organised in a massive way.
The government, on the other hand, said it was willing to constitute an 'Anomalies Committee' to sort out the employees' grievances and set right the wrongs, if any.
"There will be some anomalies after the PRC is implemented. The Anomalies Committee will examine all issues and government will act on that," Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma told a press conference.
"Please withdraw your idea of strike. It is self-destructive. It does not benefit anyone," the Chief Secretary said.
The government started crediting January salary to all employees as per the Revised Pay Scales-2022.
Meanwhile, a Division Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court, comprising Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy, directed that there shall be no recovery from the salary of any employee of the state government in the course of implementation of the PRC orders.
The High Court directed the state government to file a counter-affidavit in the matter and posted the case for further hearing to February 23.
The Division Bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by AP Gazetted Officers Association president K Krishnaiah challenging the pay revision orders issued on January 17 as that would lead to reduction in emoluments like Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance besides complete withdrawal of City Compensatory Allowance.
Calling it a 'misconception', Advocate General Sriram Subramaniam maintained there would no recovery from the salary of any employee and the gross/net pay would not be less than that drawn in December 2021.
After staying away for four days from the government committee of ministers and others, the PRC Struggle Committee leaders finally attended the talks in the state Secretariat on Tuesday and remained firm on their demands that the Government Orders (of January 17) related to pay revision be withdrawn forthwith and the salaries and pensions for January be paid as per the old PRC.
They also demanded that the report of the 11th Pay Revision Commission, headed by retired IAS officer Ashutosh Mishra, be handed over to them for perusal.
Ministers Buggana Rajendranath, Botsa Satyanarayana and government advisor (public affairs) S R K Reddy, who led the talks, declined to concede the three main demands of the Struggle Committee.
"Since the salaries have been credited into the employees' accounts, the demand for withdrawal of GOs or payment of old salaries has no relevance," Reddy told reporters after the meeting with Struggle Committee leaders.
He wondered why the employees' leaders were insisting on the Mishra Committee report. "Does giving the report resolve everything," he asked.
The Struggle Committee leaders later closeted themselves in a discussion over the outcome of the meeting with the government committee.
They later told reporters that the talks with the government committee "failed" as the latter remained adamant on its stance.
Struggle Committee leaders K Suryanarayana, Bopparaju Venkateswarlu, Bandi Srinivasa Rao and K Venkatarami Reddy asserted that they would go ahead with the agitation programme as planned.
"The government has been making a mockery of the pay revision. The meeting with the government committee proved this. They sang the same old song that the salaries have increased, which is nothing but gross deception," the Struggle Committee leaders observed.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)