Bhubaneswar: Members of Odisha revenue employees’ association, who had been on cease-work since August 11 over their 10-point charter of demands, called off the strike Tuesday in view of the prevailing flood situation and the upcoming festive season.
President of the employees’ association, Tirupati Balaji Sahu, said, “In view of the prevailing flood situation in some districts and upcoming festive season, for the greater interest of the people, we have decided to call off our protest and join duty today.”
Similarly, another functionary of the association said that their meeting with chief secretary Manoj Ahuja on Monday evening was “successful”.
“The government has given assurance to look after our genuine demands. From the meeting, it seems that the government is looking forward to fulfilling our demands,” he said.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari welcomed the employees’ decision and appealed to them to work for more hours to clear the pending work.
The striking employees’ association, Odisha Rajaswa Amala Sangha (ORAS), claimed that they were forced to take to agitation as successive governments have ignored their genuine demands.
Their demands included publication of District Revenue Ministerial Cadre Rules to enable overdue promotions, inclusion of all eligible district offices and staff in the Revenue Ministerial Service Cadre, implementation of uniform pay structure with pay upgrades and creation of a new ASO post, among others.
The public service delivery system, especially the revenue services, was severely hampered across districts due to their protest.
The revenue employees have taken the decision to call off their strike, a day after the Revenue Department sought an action taken report from all district collectors on the unauthorised mass leave of the employees.
PTI
