CM to meet employee, teacher unions over long-pending demands

The employee representatives brought to Naidu’s notice the concerns prevailing among government employees and several pending non-financial benefits

Metro India News | AMARAVATI 

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will hold a special meeting with representatives of employee and teacher associations under the Joint Staff Council at the CM’s camp office in Undavalli on Saturday to discuss long-pending issues concerning government employees. The meeting is expected to focus on key demands, including the constitution of a new Pay Revision Commission (PRC), implementation of the pending PRC, and payment of arrears of Dearness Allowance (DA), among other issues.

The development follows a meeting between AP JAC leaders A. Vidyasagar, D.V. Ramana and Bharathi Prasad, among others, and the Chief Minister at the Secretariat on Friday. The employee representatives brought to Naidu’s notice the concerns prevailing among government employees and several pending non-financial benefits, urging the government to address them at the earliest. Responding to their concerns, Naidu reportedly assured the representatives that the government was committed to resolving employee-related issues.

Despite the State’s severe financial constraints, the government was taking steps to fulfil the legitimate benefits due to employees one by one, he said. The Chief Minister, however, is understood to have expressed some dissatisfaction over employee associations resorting to agitation in haste while the government was engaged in a positive dialogue on their demands. He reportedly appealed to the unions to exercise patience when a comprehensive platform for discussions was available.

The AP JAC leaders welcomed the Chief Minister’s decision to directly engage with employee and teacher representatives. They said they appreciated the government’s positive approach towards discussions and expressed hope that the long-standing issues would receive a permanent solution at the Chief Minister’s level.