Raipur, Dec 29: Around 4.5 lakh government employees and officers across Chhattisgarh began a three-day statewide strike on Monday under the banner of the Chhattisgarh Employees and Officers Federation, pressing for the fulfilment of their 11-point charter of demands.
Described as a complete “work stop, pen down” agitation, the strike will continue till December 31 and is expected to disrupt routine administrative functioning at block and district levels across the state. Offices in several departments remained largely empty on the first day, bringing official work to a near standstill.
Federation leaders said the protest was launched after repeated memorandums, meetings and assurances from the state government failed to yield concrete action on long-pending issues concerning employees and pensioners. They warned that if the demands remain unaddressed after the three-day strike, the agitation will be intensified.
At the core of the demands is the implementation of dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) at par with central government rates from the due date, which employees say is in line with the Centre’s “Modi Guarantee”. The federation has also sought the adjustment of pending DA arrears since 2019 into employees’ general provident fund (GPF) accounts.
Another major demand is the publication of the report of the Pingua Committee, constituted to resolve pay anomalies affecting teachers, clerks, health department staff, and employees of the women and child development department. The federation is also calling for a four-tier, time-bound promotional pay scale after 8, 16, 24 and 32 years of service. Assistant teachers and assistant veterinary officers have demanded a three-tier scale, while urban local body employees are seeking regular monthly salaries and time-bound promotions.
Other demands include the introduction of cashless medical facilities on the lines of other BJP-ruled states, issuance of permanent orders for unconditional compassionate appointments without the existing 10 per cent cap, and extension of such appointments to all direct recruitment posts. Employees have also sought an increase in earned leave encashment to 300 days, similar to Madhya Pradesh.
The charter further includes calculation of all service benefits from the date of first appointment, regularisation of Panchayat Secretaries, raising the retirement age to 65 years citing staff shortages, and permanent regularisation of work-charged, irregular, daily wage and contractual employees.
Federation leaders said outreach campaigns are being conducted across the state to mobilise support for what they described as a decisive struggle to secure long-pending rights and benefits. The Gazetted Officers Association has also extended support to the agitation.
The state government has not yet issued an official response to the strike.
