Orissa employees postpone agitation

Bhubaneswar, Aug 4 (UNI) Orissa Secretariat Employees Federation (OSEF) today postponed its agitational programme following assurance by Chief Minster Naveen Patnaik to consider the demands.

The OSEF had submitted a 19-point charter of demands which included among other things merger of 50 percent of the DA with basic pay with effect from April1, 2004 and retirement age at 60 years.

OSEF Secretary General A K Mahakud told newsmen here that the Chief Minister had assured a delegation of the federation at a meeting here to take a decision within two months after considering its financial implications.

However, the Chief Minister agreed to meet some of the demands for the benefit of the employees.

The government agreed to pay gratuity at par with the central government employees, 15 per cent house rent to employees residing in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar and recruitment of executive assistants with computer knowledge from this year, the OSEF leader said.

He said the Junior Assistants posts would be abolished and in its place the Executive assistants would be recruited. The recruitment will be made by Orissa Public Service Commission and the Administrative Restructure committee would finalise their pay scale and designation.

The government would construct '' employees village'' at Bhubaneswar soon and the old and dilapidated quarters would be demolished to be erected as modern flats to tide over the housing problem of the government employees.

The Chief Minister announced to release Rs 10 crore for the purpose, Mr Mahakud said.

Mr Patnaik also agreed to convene the meeting of Departmental Promotion Committee regularly to fill up the promotional posts lying vacant and to revive the Secretariat Computer Training institute.

The Chief Minister also assured to consider the demand for releasing DA amounting to six per cent of their basic pay in October and to revive promotional posts abolished due to VRS.

UNI