- Manipur power dept staff forced to join demonstration

Manipur electricity department staff protest in front of their office as policemen look on in Imphal on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Imphal, April 17: Striking government employees today forced the staff of the Manipur electricity department here out of their
offices and made them join a demonstration along with them outside the department, demanding implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations.

The incident prompted a police team to intervene and disperse the demonstrators.

The power department employees are yet to join the ceasework launched by the employees under the banner of joint administrative council (JAC), an apex body of employee unions of government departments.

Employees of the state secretariat, however, had taken mass casual leave yesterday and work at the secretariat remained paralysed for the second successive day today.

“We picketed inside the electricity office because they (power department employees) have still not joined the strike despite employees of the state secretariat joining in,” one of the picketers said.

M. Kullachandra Singh, joint secretary of the Manipur State Electricity Department Employees’ Union assured the picketers that the employees of the electricity department would soon join the agitation.

Sources said power department employees had refrained from joining the ceasework because of a threat of action under the Manipur Maintenance of Essential Services Act.

Similar demonstrations were held inside the office complex of three engineering departments of public works department, irrigation and flood control department and public health engineering department located at Khuyathong in another part of the city.

The demonstrations were held even as employees of the state secretariat refused to attend work for the second consecutive day today in support of demand for the payment of the increased pay from January 2006.

Secretariat employees, numbering about 800, had taken mass casual leave yesterday. They began their ceasework from today despite a threat by chief secretary D.S. Poonia that the “no work no pay” policy would applied against employees who did not perform their duties.

“The secretariat employees did not attend office today also as they began their ceasework. Our agitation is continuing successfully,” A. Purojit, secretary of the Manipur Secretariat Employees Association, said.

A delegation of the secretariat employees’ body today went to meet Governor Gurbachan Jagat to express their discontentment against Okram Ibobi Singh government’s “indifference” to the three-month-long agitation by the employees.

“The governor’s office told us to come on Monday. We will be meeting the governor on that day,” Purojit said.

The employees had rejected an offer by the state government to start payment of the increased salaries from this month.
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