Gadchiroli March 18 (District Correspondent) The government-semi government officers and employees took out a huge morcha on the collectorate here as a part of their ongoing indefinite strike for pressing up the demand of old pension scheme.
Thousands of employees from different departments and local bodies first assembled at the Indira Gandhi Square of the city and then marched to the collectorate winding through the main street shouting slogans and holding placards of their demands.
On reaching the collectorate premises, the morcha was culminated into a public meeting that was addressed by the leaders of various employees’ unions leading the strike in which they strongly demanded the old pension and fulfilment of other demands.
Mr. Umeshchandra Chilbule, State President of Zilla Parishad Govt. Semi govt. Employees Union, Sunil Chadgulwar, Convenor, Ratan Shende, General Secretary, Bhashkar Meshram, Anand Gadappa of State Government Employees Central Union, Dudhram Rohankar, Secretary of ZP Employees Federation, Dhanpal misar, Ramesh Ramteke of Shikshak Samiti, Raghunath bhandekar, Ashish dhatrak of Prathamik shikshak Sangha, Gurudeo Nawghade, Bapuu Munghate of Old Pension Association, Latif Pathan and Kishor sontakke of Class IV employees Association led the morcha.
A delegation of the leaders then called on the District Collector and submitted him a memorandum addressed to the chief minister and Dy. CM of Maharashtra.
Besides the old pension scheme, the memorandum also raised other demands including benefit one grade pay increment scheme and incentive allowance as per seventh pay commission to the employees working in naxal affected areas, services of all the contract employees be regularised, all the vacant posts be filled in on priority, teaching and non-teaching staff be given the benefit of in-service assured progress scheme, posts of class IV employees should not be abolished etc.
The employees rendered services promptly during the corona calamity risking their lives hence it is the responsibility of the government to solve their problems urgently, said the memorandum. The employees’ unions have been raising these demands since very long but the government has been ignoring them hence, the employees are constrained to take the step of state wide strike, it added.
All the government and semi government employees, teaching and non-teaching staff, employees of the municipal councils, nagar panchayats, Gondwana University, class IV employees participated in the morcha.
The union leaders warned to intensify the agitation if the demands are not fulfilled by the government.
