Chennai: As the strike under Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Organisation – Government Employees Organisations, entered its eighth day on Tuesday, Tamilnadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami appealed to the teachers and employees to resume work immediately.
The members are on strike over various issues, including scrapping of the contributory pension scheme and reverting to the old pension plan, payment of arrears and addressing anomalies in pay. Many have been arrested across the state in connection with the stir.
The Chief Minister said it was their duty to do people’s work with a sense of sacrifice and by sacrificing their rights sometimes. He cited factors such as the after effects of cyclone Gaja, drought and drinking water scarcity. He said they had important role to play in people’s welfare and if these roles are properly fulfilled, then the living standards of the poor will be improved.
He also told the protesters that after the Centre increased the emoluments to its staffers accepting the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, Tamilnadu was the first state in the country to have given a hike to government employees.
“To do all these things we have to work hard with a sense of dedication. Please give up the strike immediately and return to work. Let us continue with people’s work together without any slackening,” Palaniswami said in a statement.
He also added that during the rule of late Jayalalitha‘s government, the revised pay was implemented despite severe financial crunch and even though it entailed an additional payout of Rs 14,500 crore per annum.
A lot of employees have been arrested across the state in connection with the stir and many of them got bail.