A 15-day strike by 15,000 clerks in Haryana paralyses government work

Thousands of clerks of Haryana have gone on a strike for the first time in decades, paralysing the functioning of government offices and leaving senior officers without the vital support.

The clerks have one demand basic pay equivalent to similar rank posts in the government departments. They completed 15 days of their industrial action on Wednesday.

A government clerk was getting a monthly basic salary of Rs 60 to Rs 175 in 1957, with other employees of similar level getting the same or less salary, according to the protesters.

But now, the other similar ranked officials were getting basic pay at the rate of Rs 35,400 while the clerks were getting Rs 19,900, said Vikrant Tanwar, president of CAWS.

The clerks went on a strike on July 5, maintaining the sole demand of an increase in basic pay to at least Rs 35,400 per month.

The action has substantially affected the official functioning related to the registration of vehicles, registration of land deals, and issuance of driving licences and birth certificates.

Compared to Haryana, neighbouring Punjab was offering a much better basic pay of Rs 32,100 to its clerks, the protesters stated.

Ahead of the 2014 state Assembly polls, the then-Congress government had promised to upgrade pay scales of the clerks if voted to power.

But when the Congress lost the elections, the hopes of the clerks were also dashed. As per details, the protesters are not only boycotting work, but also holding dharnas and blood donation camps.

Haryana CM’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Jawahar Yadav has already held discussions with the protesting clerks once in an effort to resolve the issue.

“A basic pay of Rs 35,400 per month is not possible for us to give at the moment,” Yadav told The Indian Express, hoping the ongoing standoff would be resolved soon.