Vijayawada: APNGO unions vow joint fight

Vijayawada: Leaders of two biggest state government employees unions, the AP JAC and AP JAC Amaravati, jointly announced that they had decided to work together for the benefit of employees and pensioners in the state.

They said a large number of employees, outsourced staff, contract workers and pensioners had been facing hardships due to delay in payment of salaries, pensions and releasing other monetary benefits. They demanded that the government immediately respond to the grievances and problems of the employees and pensioners. AP JAC chairman Bandi Srinivas, AP JAC Amaravati chairman Bopparaju Venkateswarlu and other leaders spoke to the media at the APNGOs association office here on Saturday.

Bandi Srinivas has said the common objective of the two associations is the welfare of employees and pensioners. The AP JAC was divided into two associations about four years ago due to some differences and now the leaders of two associations resolved to work together for the benefit of employees. He lamented that rival employees' associations indulged in malicious propaganda on social media against the AP JAC and AP JAC Amaravati and their joint announcement to work together for the benefit of employees. APJAC Amaravati chairman Bopparaju Venkateswarlu said a large number of state government employees and pensioners had been suffering due to not payment of salaries and pensions in the time in the state.

He has demanded that the state government implement the Pay Revision Commission and release the pending DA arrears. He said employees associations are facing severe pressure from the employees because the government is not paying salaries and other benefits to the employees and pensioners in the stipulated time.

Responding to the comments in the social media that the two employees associations would be loyal to the government and don't fight for the cause of employees, Venkateswarlu said the association leaders and members are the employees of the state government and naturally they have to be loyal to the government. "We are the employees of the state government and loyal to the government but we will continue our fight for the benefit of employees," he said.

The comments by two leaders come in the wake of reports that government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy called them during a live press conference to caution them against making any critical remarks against the state government. As the call was made during the press conference by the leaders of two unions in the full view of the visual media, some video clips of NGOs leaders expressing their acquiescence to the directions of Ramakrishna Reddy reportedly went viral on social media drawing both rebuke and ridicule from various sections.

Venkateswarlu said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy should take initiative to address the grievances of the employees and the pensioners. He said employees and pensioners in the state are suffering due to the apathy of some officers in the finance department. Both leaders alleged that the rival association was indulging in malicious campaign against AP JAC and AP JAC Amaravati and appealed to the state government employees to trust the two associations.