

CHENNAI: The state government on Friday announced that ministers EV Velu, Thangam Thennarasu and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi will hold talks with the representatives of unions of government employees and teachers regarding their demands at the secretariat on December 22.
JACTTO-GEO, the umbrella organisation for government employees and teachers, has been intensifying its protests over their long-pending demands, particularly the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.
The committee, headed by senior IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi, which submitted its interim report on the pension scheme suitable for government employees to the state government on September 30, had sought additional time to submit the final report. However, the government employees’ unions stated that submitting an interim report is a ploy to avoid submitting a final report and it cannot be accepted.
It may be recalled that the government employees and teachers staged a one-day token strike on November 18 to press for their demands. Following this, they also staged a hunger strike on December 13 at all district headquarters. The JACTTO-GEO had announced that preparatory conferences for commencing the indefinite strike from January 6 will be organised in all district headquarters on December 27.