More than 15 lakh employees of the Maharashtra government ended their three-day strike on Thursday after the state government agreed to three of their demands with immediate effect, reported ANI. The employees had called the strike, demanding, among other things, the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations.
The strike by Class 3 and Class 4 employees began on Tuesday. Their other demands included payment of 14 months’ worth of dearness allowance, a five-day working week, and increasing the retirement age from 58 to 60 years. The Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers Federation, the Maharashtra State Employees Organisation, and the Maharashtra State Class Four Employees Association organised the protest.
On Monday, the state government directed all employees to report for duty the following day and warned them of disciplinary action under the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act if they go on strike. The government also threatened salary cuts.
As many as 17 lakh employees were supposed to go on strike but around 1.5 lakh of them withdrew after the government said on Monday night that it would pay the pending arrears of the Dearness Allowance, The Indian Express reported. On Saturday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations would be implemented from January 2019.
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