DD, AIR staff withdraw mass leave call after accord with Govt

New Delhi, Sep 27 (UNI) Doordarshan and All India Radio employees tonight shelved their plan to go on mass casual leave nationwide tomorrow to protest delay in deciding their status, after an assurance by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi that the Governmenmt would urgently address their grievances.

''The representatives of the National Federation of Aakashvani and Doordarshan Employees(NFADE) this evening held talks with the Ministry and agreed to withdraw their call for tomorrow's agitation,'' Secretaray of the Ministry Asha Swarup told UNI .

Later, a leader of the Federation Kulbhushan Bhatia said the Minister assured them that a committee headed by the Secertary, Information and Broadcasting would be constituted, including representatives of the employees, to look into their demand and put it forth before the Group of Ministers looking into the financial restructuring of the Prasar Bharati.

The GoM on Prasar Bharati is meeting here on October 5 to take a decision on the status of the employees---whether they should be treated as government employees or as Prasar Bharati employees.

Last night, the Federation had threatened to go on mass leave after its talks with the Ministry failed.

Most of the 40,000 employees of the Prasar Bharati are demanding that they should be reverted to their previous status as government staff. The discontent over their uncertain status has been brewing for long with the Government failing to arrive at any final solution.

UNI