Contract employees threaten to intensify stir for regularisation

Tirupati: The leaders of the unions of contract and outsourcing employees working in government departments, universities, teachers and in Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) held a meeting here on Sunday and formed a city level joint action committee (JAC) to intensify their stir with the demand for regularisation of their services. 

Addressing the union leaders, CITU district general secretary K  Murali flayed the state government and also the TTD management where more than 14,000 outsourcing employees are working, for not taking steps for enhancing the salaries of contract and outsourcing employees.

The Supreme Court, in its verdict, ordered equal pay for equal work. But the state government and the TTD are maintaining silence even after the judgement forcing the employees to go for the agitation, he said. 

He said a separate Tirupati JAC is being formed as the city has the largest number of contract and outsourcing employees and workers in Chittoor district to spearhead the stir, taken up at state level with the demand for regularisation of their services and also to get redressal for the demands.

The demands include prompt payment of salary every month, providing the casual leave facility, conversion of part time employees in education department as full time employees, maternity leave facility for women employees with pay,  enhancement of salary to all outsourcing and contract employee on par with regular employees adhering to Supreme Court judgement, payment of ex-gratia to the families of deceased employees and extending the facility of compassionate ground appointment etc. 

Though the Supreme Court judgement came in 2013, the government and TTD had not responded, he said. The state level JAC of contract, outsourcing employees, teachers and workers has decided to organise `Chalo Vijayawada’ protest on August 13 to build pressure on the government to concede  the employees demands.

He warned that the JAC would intensify the stir if the government fails to act immediately on their demands. The meeting elected a 30 member JAC with Gandikota Naga Venkatesh (of SV University) as chairman and D Gopinath (TTD) as general secretary.