Karnataka Gram Panchayat Workers to Stage Protest Outside Vidhan Sabha

The casual labourers employed in gram panchayats across Karnataka are all set to march to Vidhan Soudha on August 28. Following this, the workers under the banner of Karnataka State Panchayat Employees Union will demonstrate outside the Vidhan Soudha pressing for their demands.

“Around 30,000 of the total 60,000 workers employed in over 6,000 gram panchayats across the state will march and demonstrate on August 28,” said Maruti Manpade, president, Karnataka State Panchayat Employees Union, which is affiliated to CITU.

Around 18,000 workers have been left outside the Panchatantra Electronic Fund Management System (EFMS) because of the lack of educational records. “Our main demand is that those workers would be included in the system,” said Manpade.

So far, over 60 per cent of the workers were brought under EFMS, the system meant for transparent fund management and payment to the workers. While, nearly 18,000 workers who have been working as pump operators, sweepers, bill collectors, data entry operators and clerks, had failed to submit the records proving their educational qualifications, and they were left out from the system too. The government needs to allow them to continue their jobs – that do not require any educational qualifications – considering the age of workers and the nature of the jobs, Manpade added.

Promotion of all bill collectors who have passed Class 10 and have completed 10 years of service to Gram Grade 2 secretary positions, introducing pension, medical facilities, gratuity and other benefits for gram panchayat workers, completing the process of drafting service terms for gram panchayat workers and upgrading of Grade 2 gram panchayats to Grade 1 gram panchayats as per 2011 census are some of the key demands.

Earlier, on August 6 also, the workers had staged a demonstration outside the Zilla Panchayat office in Mangaluru, urging the implementation of minimum wages and other facilities on par with the state government employees. The protesters had demanded the implementation of recommendations of the committee headed by Additional Secretary MS Swamy.

The committee recommended the creation of additional posts in gram panchayats as per population. Those posts are meant to be created for the effective functioning of panchayats.

During the August 6 protest, Panchayat Employees Union urged the state government to bring in changes to the circular that had issued in June, and continue with the services of sweepers who are illiterate and those who do not have birth certificates. Manpade had also said that the Union would take the responsibility of making the illiterate sweepers literate. Also, the Union urged the government to accept the age proof given by the doctors after the medical examination.

Manpade also urged the government to frame Cadre and Recruitment rules (C and R rules) for the gram panchayat employees on the lines of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The C and R rules enable direct recruitments.

Demanding the regularisation of service and salary hike, gram panchayat employees from various other parts of the country have also been protesting. On August 16, gram panchayat workers from Nalgonda district in Telangana, under the flagship of CITU, rallied to the district collectorate, demanding job regularisation and a hike in salary. The protesters had also warned the state government that they would intensify the protest if the demands are not addressed as soon as possible.