Report by the correspondent of Mazdoor Ekta Committee
Government employees in Madhya Pradesh protested by taking mass leave on 25th August 2023, under the banner of ‘Madhya Pradesh Officer-Employee United Front’. These workers have been raising their demands since a long time now.
Madhya Pradesh Officers-Employees Joint Front includes Madhya Pradesh Class III Government Employees Union, Madhya Pradesh Clerical Class Government Employees Union, Madhya Pradesh Small Wage Employees Union, Madhya Pradesh Vehicle Driver Employees Union, Madhya Pradesh District Court Employees Union and Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department Clerks Union, etc.
There are a total of 575000 employees in 52 departments of Madhya Pradesh government, who are currently on leave for their 39-point demands. Along with these employees, gazetted officers also remained on leave. Work in government offices came to a complete standstill as employees and officers were on leave.
The agitating employees have announced their decision to go on strike for one day on 10th September. They have also said that if no action is taken on their demands after that day, then the workers will go on an indefinite strike.
The main demands of the employees are that arrears of dearness allowance should be paid at par with central government employees, 4 percent dearness relief should be paid to retired employees, old pension scheme should be restored, anomalies in grade-pay of clerks should be removed, designation should be given to class IV employees, vehicle drivers should be recruited and taxi system should be abolished, vehicle allowance and house rent allowance should be paid according to the seventh pay scale, mandatory C.P.C.T. (Computer Proficiency Certificate Test) and the practice of outsourcing should be stopped, teachers and assistant teachers should be given pay scales as per their seniority and seniority should be determined by the date of appointment, employees should be promoted on time, pending demands of anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, part-time workers, stenographers, district court employees, and revenue employees, should be fulfilled.