Work in all government offices and public sector undertakings was paralysed on Tuesday across the state due to the strike in all the three regions of the state.
Ignoring Jammu and Kashmir government's appeal, the state employees went on a two-day strike in support of their demand for implementation of 6th pay panel report and enhancing the retirement age to 60 from the present 58 years.
Work in all government offices and public sector undertakings was paralysed on Tuesday across the state due to the strike in all the three regions of the state, officials said.
In a last minute effort, finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather appealed to the employees not to go on strike as the government has in principal agreed to implement the pay penal recommendations.
"We appeal to the employees not to resort to strike as the Government has agreed in principal to implement the pay panel report," Rather said on Monday.
"We are mobilising resources to meet the extra burden on the state exchequer in the wake of implementation of the pay panel report. A team of officers of the state government was engaged in negotiations with the Centre in this regard," he added.
He said it was unfortunate that employees have adopted a confrontation attitude.
This is the second time in less than a month that the employees went on a strike in support of their demands. On January 28, they observed a one-day strike seeking implementation of the pay panel recommendations.
Commenting on the statement of the finance minister, JK employees joint action committee spokesman said, "We have held several rounds of talks with the Finance Ministry in this regard.
"They have given assurance but nothing substantial has been done. We want the government to get a green signal from the Centre so that the pay panel report can be implemented ahead of the next financial year," he said.
The spokesman said the employees would intensify their protests if the government did not concede to their demands.
"This time the employees are desperate and want to see implementation (pay penal report) at the earliest. If the government did not concede to our demand we would intensify our protests, he said.
However, Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) Officers Association remained away from the strike.
"Keeping in view the confidence, which KAS cadre has in the government vis-a-vis its seriousness to implement the report, we are not joining the strike," a spokesman of the association said.
A delegation of KAS officers called on the state finance minister, who assured them that government was committed to the implementation of the Pay panel report and mobilising resources for the same, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the employees have decided to take out rallies in all the 22 districts of the state in support of their demands.
Besides implementation of the Sixth pay panel report and enhancement of retirement age to 60 from present 58 years, the striking employees are demanding removal of pay anomalies, conversion of cost of living allowance (COLA) to public sector employees on the pattern of DA.
The other demands are regularisation of daily wagers, bringing all the anganwadi workers in the pay scales like government employees, pay scales of clerical and planning assistants brought at par with the staff of accounts cadre with effect from February 2001, enhancement in the wage act including increase in wages of the daily wagers from current Rs 2100 a month to Rs 5000.
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