Karnataka govt employees launch 3-phase protest seeking pay hike

CHIKKAMAGALURU: The Karnataka State Government Employees' Association has announced three-phase plans to escalate their protest, urging the cash-strapped Congress government to meet three key pending demands: Revised pay, health scheme continuation and reinstatement of old pension scheme.
At a meeting here on Sunday, association president CS Shadakshari highlighted the major demands: Immediate implementation of the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission; continuation of Karnataka Arogya Sanjeevini health scheme; and replacement of National Pension System (NPS) with Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
Demand has its roots in previous govt's measures
The govt's inaction on these critical issues has left us with no choice but to intensify our protest," Shadakshari said. "Starting July 8, our members will present memorandums to district ministers, deputy commissioners and tahsildars across the state, demanding a fair wage revision."
The second phase of protest is scheduled during the July 16-26 legislature session. "If the government fails to meet our demands by then, we will initiate an indefinite peaceful protest towards July end or early August," Shadakshari said.
At its recent meeting, the state cabinet had authorised chief minister Siddaramaiah to make a decision following discussions. Earlier, the CM had expressed in-principle support for implementing the 7th Pay Commission. Party leader Rahul Gandhi, too, had pledged to scrap NPS and reinstate OPS during 2023 assembly election campaign.
Former MLC KT Srikantegowda echoed these sentiments, urging the state government to end "discriminatory practices" against state government employees compared with their counterparts in the central government. "Karnataka government employees receive 40% less than their Union government counterparts," Srikantegowda noted, emphasising the need for equitable treatment.
The pay-hike demand stems from discontent over interim measures taken by the previous BJP government, which offered a 17% salary increase. The employees, however, seek a more substantial hike of 40%, following recommendations by a panel chaired by former chief secretary K Sudhakar Rao, which proposed a 27.5% hike.