RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has expressed his displeasure over the ongoing indefinite strike by the government employees. Baghel said that despite the various decisions taken by the government in their favour if the staffers wish to continue the agitation, “it’s up to them”.
Saying that it cannot be “barter or bargain on hike,” Baghel added, “Several employees have welcomed our decision on increasing the Dearness Allowance (DA) by 6 per cent. The decisions are taken based on the economic condition of the state. We have delivered more than the previous (BJP) regime in the interest of the employees.”
The state government last week gave the employees a 6 per cent DA hike, which was cited as “insufficient” by the Chhattisgarh Employees-Officers Federation, following which they proceeded on a statewide strike from Monday.
“We demanded 34 per cent DA and HRA as per the 7th Pay Commission scale but both these have not been met. Some of our suggestions were also ignored,” said Kamal Verma, the convener of the federation. However, the opposition BJP came out in open support of around 4 lakh protesting employees.
“Instead of raising the DA equal to that of the Central government employees, the Baghel government is crushing their right to hold peaceful agitation. The employees shouldn’t worry. It’s a matter of little over a year and the BJP will fulfill their demands after the formation of the government,” said Raman Singh, BJP national vice-president and former CM said.The Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh are due next year.
According to the orders issued by the state finance department, the employees received 22 per cent DA under the 7th Pay Commission and 174 per cent under the 6th Pay Commission since May 2022.
After the revision, 6 per cent and 15 per cent hikes have been effected under the 7th and 6th Pay Commissions respectively, the statement added.
The staff will now get 28 per cent and 189 per cent DA from August 1.
It will benefit around 3.8 lakh employees and is likely to put an additional annual burden of Rs 2,160 crore on the state exchequer.