VIJAYAWADA: With the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) Struggle Committee announcing that it will go ahead with its planned ‘Chalo Vijayawada’ programme on Thursday, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed officials to speed up the process of fulfilling all the assurances made to government employees.
While the Chief Minister’s direction is meant to appease the employees that the government is sincere in fulfilling the assurances made to them, government advisor (public affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy made it clear that action will be taken if the general public are put to inconvenience by the employees with their show of strength. Holding a Spandana video conference with District Collectors and SPs on Wednesday, Jagan said the government made certain announcements with regard to the PRC and other issues.
“We have promised compassionate appointments to the kin of frontline warriors who died during Covid duties. Orders in this regard have already been issued. Hence, the appointments should be completed by June 30. The appointments should be made in village and ward secretariats on a priority basis. There should not be any laxity on the part of officials in this regard,” he asserted.
With regard to house sites, Jagan instructed the officials to allocate plots to every eligible employee in the 10% reserved space in Jagananna smart townships, besides providing 20% price rebate. The employees seeking plots in the smart townships, should apply by March 5, he said.
Speaking on probation of village/ward secretariat employees, he said it should be provided by June 30 to ensure that all the staff receive new salaries by July 1. The probation exams for the remaining 25% of secretariat staff should be completed at the earliest, he stressed, adding that the retirement age of the government employees was enhanced to 62 from 60 years to do good to them. Meanwhile, Sajjala appealed to the PRC Struggle Committee leaders to give up their agitation and come for talks with the government to resolve the issues amicably.
He opined that there will be no use with the disclosure of the PRC report now as the process has already been completed. Thus, it is better to resume talks on the employees’ issues on a priority basis to resolve them. In fact, the government has taken the initiative in inviting the employees’ union leaders for talks and it is still open for negotiations on the PRC issue, he explained.
Describing the Chalo Vijayawada programme as nothing but a show of strength, he appealed to the employees’ union leaders not to complicate the matters. “They can raise their objections if any on the House Rent Allowance and pensions. We will try to sort out the problems if they are genuine by taking them to the notice of the Chief Minister,” he promised.
Instead of speaking on issues related to the PRC, it is not correct on the part of the employees’ union leaders to bring other demands like cancellation of the Contributory Pension Scheme and forcing APSRTC employees to go on strike. “The attempt to stop RTC bus services thereby stalling the movement of the public is nothing but a show of strength. Is it correct on the part of employees? It is nothing but an illusion of employees that their demands can be achieved through pressure tactics,’’ he said. Seeking to know what is the better platform than the Ministers Committee and Anomalies Committee to resolve the issues, Sajjala advised the employees and their families not to participate in the Chalo Vijayawada programme, which will complicate the matter further.
Give up rally: Sajjala
Govt advisor Sajjala Rama-krishna Reddy appealed to staff to give up Chalo Vij- yawada protest