SRINAGAR: Government employees in Jammu and Kashmir say they will hold a state-wide strike on August 23 in support of their demands, including raising the retirement age from 58 to 60 years.
“We have decided to organise massive protests on August 22 at all the district headquarters of the state and complete strike on August 23 to force the government to implement the agreement signed between it and the employees,” J-K Employees Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) leader Mohammad Gafoor Dar told reporters at Jammu.
The employees are demanding enhancement of retirement age from 58 to 60 years, regularisation of daily and need-based workers who have been engaged after 1994, removal of pay anomalies of clerical cadre and budgetary support to sick public sector corporations for payment of wages to workers.
“We condemn the constant delay on the part of the state government which has miserably failed to implement the agreement signed by it and JCC leadership, thus forcing the employees to intensify the agitation,” Dar said, according to PTI.
There are nearly half a million government employees in the entire state. Protests over the demands have been held on and off since last year.