Seemandhra Agitating Employees Want To Call-Off Strike?

By Arhaan Faraaz / Hyderabad

Citing the Dasara festival and the long struggle launched by them, the striking Seemandhra employees are urging their leaders to end the agitation and allow political parties to carry on the Samaikya movement. This being the sentiment, the leaders of the striking employees are likely to seek a compromise when they meet chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, that there could be a ‘face-saving’ end to the two-month long agitation launched by them. 
“While they are committed to the Samaikya cause, the employees are also faced with livelihood issues as they are unable to pay house rent, EMIs, school fees and new clothes for Dasara as they have not received salaries since August. So they want to go back to work. They feel that the general public and political parties should take the lead and sustain the movement,” said U Muralikrishna, chairman of the Seemandhra Employees Forum. 
    
According to sources, if the CM offers a compromise, in the form of treating the strike period as leave and grants them immediate salary or advance ahead of Dasara, the strike might end on Wednesday. “No one is in a mood to celebrate festival in this hour of distress. We have done enough to register our protest. Now, it is better to go back to work and leave the agitation to the general public and political parties,” said K Narasa Reddy, a commercial tax official. 

However, leaders of the AP Non-Gazetted Officers (APNGO), an employees’ union which is in the forefront of the strike, said they would not call off the strike unless they get a clear assurance on keeping the state united. 
    
“We have launched the struggle knowing very well the consequences. We are not deterred by the troubles. There is no question of calling off the strike without a clear commitment from the Centre to drop the proposal to divide the state,” said APNGOs president P Ashok Babu. 
    
However, he said the representatives of the striking employees would take part in the talks with the chief minister with an open mind and added that the further course of action would depend on the outcome of the meeting. 
    
Meanwhile, expressing his concern over the plight of the employees, finance minister Anam Ramanrayana Reddy called upon them to call off the strike. 
    
Minister Anam, who also heads the cabinet sub-committee on employees’ affairs, said he would request the government to convert the strike period into leave and would also try to release festival advance for the employees if they call off the strike.