17 lakh state govt staff strike work today

Driven on the back foot on the festering Maratha reservation issue, the Maharashtra government has to fend off trouble from another quarter: nearly 17 lakh state government employees will be going on a 3-day strike from Tuesday to demand immediate implementation of the 7th Pay commission award.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced the implementation of the 7th pay Commission from January 2019 but the unions are not buying the promise and are demanding immediate implementation.

"A provision of Rs 10,000 crores for the 7th Pay commission has already been made by the State government in its annual budget. Why are they dillydallying over the implementation?" questioned Avinash Daund, General Secretary of the State Government Employees Union.

"We can’t wait for January 2019 for implementation of the award. In the interim, elections

could be announced and the model code of conduct may come into force. That is why we are demanding immediate implementation," Daund explained.

With class three and class four government employees joining the strike, some essential services like those in government hospitals and municipality-run schools are likely to be affected. The employees of the state government, zilla parishad, teachers, State-run corporations, education and other departments will take part in the strike.