Punjab CM appeals to govt employees to call off strike

Chandigarh, July 27 (IANS) Assuring all efforts to resolve their grievances in consultation with the departments concerned, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday appealed to the striking government employees to call off their stir to prevent any further inconvenience to the public.

Chairing a high-level meeting to review the demands of the striking employees, he expressed concern over their continued agitation, which has severely impacted the functioning of various state government departments.

An official spokesman said the state government had constituted a committee of officers to look into the demands of the agitating employees.

The committee had examined, in detail, the demands of various employees associations and had submitted its report. It found that certain demands raised by the employees were linked to the decisions of the government prior to 2006 and were in no way connected with the report of the Sixth Punjab Pay Commission.

The state government has already decided to implement the recommendations of the Pay Commission with effect from July 1. This has resulted in a financial outflow of Rs 4,692 crore to approximately 2.85 lakh employees and 3.07 lakh pensioners every year.

On an average, it works out to Rs 79,250 per annum, over and above what they are getting at present. In addition, the employees and pensioners will be getting arrears of Rs 14,759 crore, which works out to an average of Rs 2.32 lakh per employee and pensioner.