Council to immediately release 3 months dues, new scale from January
Tura, Sep 1: Two weeks of total shutdown of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, following a strike by hundreds of employees to protest unpaid dues for 34 long months, appears to be drawing to a close with the authorities in the oldest autonomous body announcing a slew of measures that includes immediate release of three months dues and a new revised pay structure from early next year.
Chief Executive Member of GHADC Albinush Marak told The Meghalayan Express that funds have been generated to ensure the enployees are given salaries for three pending months within a few days time.
“We have assured the Non Gazetted Employees Association leaders at the meeting that 3 months dues will be given now, and will again mobilise funds for salary disbursement before Christmas, this year. Their demand for the 5th Pay Commission scale of pay is also being accepted and we hope to provide them their salaries under the new scale from January 2025 onwards,” said CEM Albinush Marak.
The leaders of the striking employees told the government delegation that they would inform their striking employees at Tura Government College field of the meeting’s outcome on Monday morning, before taking a decision on whether to continue the protest or return to work.
The ice was broken between the employees association and the council authorities after a high level meeting was called by the GHADC Chief Executive Member Albinush Marak and West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Jagdish Chelani with the leaders of the striking employees at Tura circuit house on Satuday morning.
Deputy commissioner Chelani, who was the interlocutor for the two sides, told this scribe that a meeting to break the deadlock was necessitated since a number of urgent pending works had been halted due to the ongoing protests.
“We wanted this issue to be resolved because a lot of regular works have been impacted by the ongoing strike. Clearance of non-incumberance certificates, survey of village lands, industrial expansion and others have been stuck due to the strike,” said DC Chelani.
He revealed that the state has released approximately Rs 8 Crore as share of royalty to the district council which would come in handy for the disbursement of pending salaries, this month.
With 34 long months of dues, the council employees began their strike, two weeks ago. They first halted work for four days, the previous week. With no positive feedback from the state and council authorities, they launched a second round of protests the entire five working days of this week, before they were called to the negotiation table.
While it remains to be seen whether the rest of the protesting employees will tow the lone, authorities are optimistic the staff will be at their work desks, by Tuesday morning.
