
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The statewide strike by certain government employees demanding service benefits partly disrupted the functioning of offices and schools across Kerala. The protest, organised by service organisations affiliated to Opposition parties and CPI, called for salary revisions, reinstatement of leave surrender, and clearance of pending dearness allowance dues. As part of the demonstration, the Secretariat Action Council prepared rice gruel outside the building.
The protest escalated into violence in Pathanamthitta, Kannur and Kollam, where clashes occurred between the protesters and service organisations. While most government schools operated normally, there were a few exceptions.
The General Education Department suspended Jinil Jose, the headmaster of Government LPS in Vattiyoorkavu, for declaring an unauthorised school holiday due to the strike.
Service organisations provided varying reports on attendance. The joint council, affiliated to CPI, claimed that 65% of employees at district and taluk offices participated in the strike, while reporting that the impact was milder at the Secretariat and panchayat offices. But, government offices like the PWD, registration, and GST departments operated without major disruptions.
“The employees took part in the strike despite threats of the ‘dies non’ rule, as they are losing out on their entitled service benefits. In some offices, staff members were threatened with transfers,” said Jayachandran Kallingal, general secretary of the joint council.
Congress-affiliated organisations reported that attendance at the Secretariat was 44% lower than usual, while the Kerala Secretariat Employees Association noted only 125 employees were absent against the previous day attendence of 3,609 employees.
The Action Council of State Employees and Teachers maintained that the protest had minimal impact on school and office operations.