Govt Employees Hold Protest, Demand Increase In Dearness Allowance

West Bengal DA Hike Strike Latest Update: The protesting employees of 18 organisations said they will continue to hold the protest until their demands are addressed.

West Bengal DA Hike Strike Latest Update: The West Bengal government employees on Friday said they are holding a day-long protest and demanded a hike in dearness allowance. However, the Mamata Banerjee government said no leave will be allowed on the day and the absence will be treated as a break in service.

The protesters staged demonstrations in front of the gates of state government offices and educational institutions demanding a hike in Dearness Allowance (DA). Notably, they squatted in front of the gates of state government offices such as Writers Building, Bikash Bhavan, Khadya Bhavan, Swastha Bhavan, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Protests were witnessed in district headquarters town, block development offices and municipalities and panchayats as the number of attendees was fewer than other days.

The protesting employees of 18 organisations, who have been demanding that their DA be raised to the level of what their counterparts in the central government get, said they will continue to hold protest until their demands are addressed.

“Whatever step the government takes, we will observe the strike,” said one of the leaders of the agitating bodies. Earlier this week, they held a 48-hour pen-down agitation on this issue, ignoring warnings of action.

Here’s What Protesting Employees Say

The joint forum representatives said that they will continue with the strike even after this formal notification from the state government. According to the protesting employees, the state government issued a similar warning last month when the forum observed a pen-down strike at the state government offices for two consecutive days.

“We are pushed to the wall. The court has even observed that dearness allowance is the right of the employees and not a fruit of charity. So come what may, we continue with our strike,” a forum office bearer said.

Mamata Banerjee Warns of Strong Action Against Protesters

Ahead of the strike, the West Bengal government issued an order on Thursday and said all state government offices including those provided with grants-in-aid by the state such as educational institutions shall remain open on March 10 and all employees will report for duty on that day.

“No Casual Leave or any other kind of leave for absence either in the first half of the day or in the second half or for the whole day shall be granted to any employee on March 10,” the order said.

The order further added that the absence of employees on the day will be treated as dies-non (break in service) and no salary will be admissible unless such absence is covered by hospitalisation of the employees or if there is bereavement in the family, severe illness and absence continuing prior to March 9.

Mamata on DA Hike Demand of Employees

Earlier this week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a session of the Assembly, said that her government will not be able to provide additional dearness allowance to the state government employees “even if she is beheaded”.

“The previous Left Front government denied payments of DA arrears year-after-year. After we came to power, we increased the DA payment manifold. How much more do you want? What else will satisfy you? If you do not like me, you can behead me,” Banerjee added.