Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that his government is ready to implement the 7th pay commission report.
The statement comes a day before government employees in Karnataka are set to go on an indefinite strike over the implementation of the pay commission and several other demands.
“Our senior officials are in touch with the government employees’ association and their president, and are holding talks. I have already made it clear in the Assembly that we were the ones who formed the seventh pay commission and it will be implemented in 2023-24 itself, and funds for it have been allocated in the budget,” Bommai told reporters at Hubballi.
The chief minister further said the employees’ demand is to seek an interim report and implement it, which he has agreed to.
“We are ready to immediately direct the seventh pay commission to submit the interim report and implement it,” he added.
Most of the services, barring a few like transport and critical care at hospitals and crematoriums, are likely to be hit due to the stir. The employees have forwarded three major demands — implementation of the 7th pay commission report, reverting to the Old Pension Scheme and implementation of at least 40 per cent of fitment facilities.
Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association is yet to issue a statement on the strike after the chief minister’s statement.
Earlier association president C S Shadakshari had said that all services including hospitals — other than casualty and essential services — will be affected. Also, all services of Mahanagara Palike and Pura Sabha, including pourakarmika (civic workers) and energy supply companies, revenue collection, schools and pre-university examinations, will also be hit, he said.
According to a statement issued by the association, the government employees have contributed immensely to the state’s growth and development and they also worked relentlessly during the fight to end the Covid pandemic. “During the Covid period, several government employees lost their lives. The government employees sacrificed by forgoing a whopping ₹4000 crore, which is 18 months’ DA, to enable the government to fight the pandemic in a big way,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Jayaram Raipur, secretary to the chief minister, addressed the protesting pourakarmikas and said that the file with regard to making all the pourakamrikas permanent is before the CM, and assured that the same would be approved within two days and the procedure, including the issuance of notification, would be done within a period of 1-2 weeks.
He assures that all 16,000 pourakarmikas working under the BBMP would be made permanent together and that until then the present recruitment process in regard to 3,673 workers would be kept in abeyance.
BBMP Pourakramikara Sangha has been protesting at the civic body head office with the demand to make all pourakarmikas permanent as per the written promise given by the chief minister during the 4-day strike held in July last year. Although there were 16,000 pourakarmikas working in BBMP, a notification was issued only with regard to 3,673 workers and injustice was done to the remaining 12,500 pourakarmikas. On the basis of this assurance, the protest was withdrawn, said officials.