SRINAGAR, Oct 3: Hundreds of employees of Jammu and Kashmir state government on Wednesday clashed with police as they took out a protest demonstration after talks with the government over their demands failed.
Police used force to prevent the representatives of nearly half a million state employees from marching towards the civil secretariat in capital Srinagar. They also used water cannons to disperse the protesting employees.
Talks over payment of arrears from the sixth pay commission hike, regularisation of contractual workers and raising the retirement age from 58 to 60 years between the Joint Consultative Committee – an amalgam of various unions – and the government failed on Monday as the meeting yielded no consensus.
Earlier in May and June, schools and government offices were affected as the employees went on a series of strikes to press for their demands. However they called off protests in July after what they said were assurances by the government to look into the matter.
On Monday, after the meeting, Abdul Gafoor Dar, a senior JCC leader said they were disappointed and blamed the government of using “delay tactics”.
The JCC had called for statewide protests today and have also plans to gherao the civil secretariat on the 15th of this month.
