ULHASNAGAR NEWS

Ulhasnagar civic officials want salary as per sixth pay panel


More than 3,000 civic employees staged a dharna in front of the office of the municipal corporation on Monday. Alleging official apathy, the employees of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation were protesting against the non-payment of salaries in accordance with the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

“The civic authorities have only been making false promises. Whenever we met officials to make them aware of our plight, we were told that the civic body was looking into our demands and will find an amicable solution soon. However, two years have passed but nothing concrete has happened so far,” said Charansingh Tak, president, Akhil Bhartiya Safai Mazdoor Congress.

Tak added that official apathy had escalated this matter and infuriated employees now seek immediate action from municipal corporation to resolve this simmering crisis.

He warned that if the administration failed to offer any solution soon, 3,000 civic employees will go an indefinite strike.

Highlighting the grievances of civic employees, he said the authorities had failed to implement the recommendations of the Lad and Page committee report. There has been no progress in the recruitment of 300 employees, which has been pending for almost a year now. Due to the indifference of the civic officials, more than 200 workers have been forced to work on daily wages for almost 10 to 15 years. Most of them are due to retire soon, but the civic body still doesn’t have any concrete plans to offer them some retirement benefits.

When HT approached municipal commissioner Ashok Rankhamb, he said, “We had formed a committee to look into the matter and we are also seeking guidance from legal and account sections to implement the recommendations of the committee at the earliest. We have also approached the state government to expedite the matter.”

Expressing concern about employees’ welfare, he said, “They are our employees and we will be happy to address their grievances. We are looking into their demands and will see to it that this issue is resolved.”