Maharashtra: Breakthrough for govt as two unions withdraw from strike

Municipal workers’ union members demand the implementation of the old pension scheme, at Azad Maidan on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Eighteen lakh state employees went on an indefinite strike over their demand for the implementation of the old pension scheme (OPS) on Tuesday, but by the evening, the two unions of primary teachers and health workers decided to withdraw from the protest from Wednesday.

President of Prathamik Shikshak Sangh, which has 3.50 lakh members, Sambhaji Thorat, said the central union of the state employees that had given the call for the strike, should abandon its adamant attitude, discuss the issue with the government and withdraw the protest. Thorat claimed one of the health employee unions has decided to go to work from Wednesday.

"The CM and Dy CM are positive towards our demand. We are willing to give the government more time to find a solution. A committee of bureaucrats and employee unions will study the issue and come out with a solution," said Thorat, claiming that his union was never in favour of the strike because CM Eknath Shinde had promised them action during their conclave in Konkan.

Also Read: Maharashtra: State govt staff strike could affect boards

A statement from the CMO said Tuesday's meeting was successful when it was said that the system would crumble because of the strike. On Tuesday, the strike impacted offices and institutions like hospitals. So far, gazetted officers have stayed away from the call, but their union has promised to join the agitation in the last week of March if the principal demand is not met.

But the gazetted officers may not be able to deliver for long without the support staff. The issue was raised in the legislature for the second consecutive day. The meeting of employee unions, CM Eknath Shinde, Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis and opposition leaders Ajit Pawar and Ambadas Danve failed on Monday because the unions felt that the government was not forthcoming with clarity but tried to buy time to find a solution that would be acceptable to the employees.

However, there was a silver lining to the agitation, which was expected to affect the conduct of the board examinations. Junior college teachers have decided to supervise the examination but will not evaluate the papers. If the agitation is prolonged, the exam result may be delayed. In some places, the teachers of government and semi-government schools went to their workplaces but stayed away from classrooms. Reports from across the state said that the strike has affected hospitals.

In the legislative council, senior minister Chandrakant Patil said that the government hadn't rejected the demand, but sought to form a committee of retired officers to find a suitable solution to the problem.

Pawar told media persons that the government should understand how some smaller states could revise the OPS, and being a bigger state (in terms of economy), it should try ways to revive the scheme. He dismissed the observation that his party's government was in power in 2005 when the OPS was stopped. "It was the then Central government's decision. The people who were recruited after 2005 feel that the people (union leaders) who had nothing to lose (because they were covered in the OPS) signed an agreement with the government on their behalf," said Pawar.

Notably, when he was the finance minister in the MVA government, Pawar had opposed OPS on financial grounds. His contention was that the increased expenditure on salary and pension would not leave substantial funds available for developmental activities. Incumbent FM Fadnavis had reiterated Pawar's observation in the house in December last while cautioning against the financial burden the OPS would create for the state treasury.

Uddhav Thackeray backed the agitation. "What has stopped the government from reviving OPS? It should not worry much about the expenses because it has the backing of Mahashakti. The Shiv Sena is in support of the employees and their families. Some states have already revived OPS. Why is the ‘obliged' government playing games?" the former CM said in a statement.

Chief minister says

Making a statement in the Vidhan Sabha late Tuesday evening, CM Eknath Shinde announced a committee of three retired additional chief secretaries, Subodh Kumar, KP Bakshi and Sudhir Shrivastav to recommend ways to meet the employees' demands. The panel has been told to submit its report in three months.

‘Patients will suffer if strike continues'

Government employees of Class 3 and 4 also joined the strike on Tuesday seeking the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). On day one there was not much impact on services provided by some hospitals such as that of the JJ group, but the medical fraternity fears that if the strike continues, patients will suffer. According to hospital officials, on average around 90 to 100 surgeries are performed every day at JJ hospitals. On Tuesday majority of scheduled surgeries were performed, and very few non-emergency surgeries were postponed. Speaking to mid-day, JJ Hospital Dean Dr Pallavi Saple said, "We held OPD and performed surgeries like on routine days. I took assistance from the BMC and we also asked for nursing support. We have contractual people for cleaning and sweeping too."

According to officials in the JJ group of hospitals, around 1,500 nurses are on strike with around 1,200 Class 4 employees. These include cleaning staff, security guards and room maids. Apart from this, around 700 clerks and persons who look after technical work were also off duty. A senior official from JJ hospital said, "Usually we don't see much impact on day one, but if it continues for a couple of more days then the impact will be seen on patients' services. Currently, patients who need immediate medical attention are being admitted." A doctor at GT Hospital said, "The hospital performs around 7 to 8 surgeries every day, but on Tuesday due to unavailability of staff, surgeries were postponed. However, nursing students looked after the IPD patients.

2005
Year OPS was stopped