Despite arrests, employees continue strike
TAWQEER HUSSAIN
Collapsing the whole administration, the normal life in all government offices in Jammu and Kashmir remain paralysed for the seventh consecutive day, while all the government schools wore a deserted look. . Nearly 4.5 lakh employees who are pressing the government for fulfilling their commitments including the release of their sixth pay commission arrears are on the strike from the last Saturday.
The continued strike has affected all sectors and life in all government sectors came to halt. The mostly affected remained the health and the education sector. The strike also hit the health-care sector. Patient care continued to be hit as Outdoor Patient Department in all the hospitals was closed with poor patients forced to return home without being attended. Doctors in the government run hospitals are facing the tough time as they have to cope with the thousands of patients without the presence of paramedical staff. However, the emergency services in hospitals have been exempted from the strike.
After health, the Education sector is the second worst sufferers due to the on going confrontation between the employees and the state government. Just having the one month working days in this session the schools are closed again making the students to suffer.
This strain between the government and the employees seems not to end as the state government although has made the wide appeal and imposed the ESMA(Essential Services Maintenance Act ) to the striking employees to resume their duties but they did not turn up.
Under the ESMA, so far hundreds of employees have been arrested from different places in the state but it has not made any such impact so that the employees may resume their duties. Rather it had made them more stiff.
Employees Joint Action President (EJAC) leader Mohammad Gafoor Dar has asked the government to withdraw ESMA and held another round of negotiations with the employees to end this stalemate. Today also the employees at various district headquarters took out rallies to press their demands. The police tried to prevent these rallies at several places and arrested nearly 100 employees.
"The employees have been arrested while taking out rallies in support of their demands," said an employees’ leader, Farooq Ahmad Trali.
Meanwhile Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah retreated the employees to resume their duties and said that doors for talks are open.
Welcoming Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah’s Wednesday statement that government was ready to talk to the employees the Joint Consultative Committee member and EJAC (K) president, Khursheed Alam said that. “But talks have to be initiated by the government. We never want confrontation and believe in talks. But government has to accept our demands,” he said.