Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose has agreed to mediate between the Mamata Banerjee government and agitating state government employees for an amicable resolution to the ongoing impasse over the demand for parity in dearness allowance (DA), claimed a five-member delegation of agitators, which met him at Raj Bhavan on Sunday.
After the 15-minute meeting at the gubernatorial residence, the delegation said on Sunday morning that Bose assured them — subject to the state government’s willingness to be part of the process — of his readiness to mediate.
“We have been demanding a tripartite dialogue, involving us, the state government, and the governor. He (Bose) assured us that he would try to arrange it,” said a member of the delegation.
“Being a former government employee, he understands that our demand for the clearance of DA arrears (on a par with central government employees) is just. The governor told us he would initiate necessary processes from within the constitutional provisions,” the member of the delegation added.
He also added that their agitation — on for years but which picked up pace in the past couple of months — would not be withdrawn right away.
“Let us see how fruitful the (gubernatorial) efforts are. We will then decide our future course of action.”
Late on Saturday, Bose issued a statement from the governor’s Twitter handle, urging the agitating employees to withdraw, at least, their ongoing fast.
“Governor is deeply pained that the hunger strike of the aggrieved employees is entering its fourth week. The issues involved may be complex but there is always a simple way out. What is of paramount importance is the precious life of our brothers who are on a continuous fast for a cause which is close to their heart,” read the statement.
“Governor entreats all those who are on the perilous fast to kindly end it and request all stakeholders to sit together and find an acceptable way out of the imbroglio,” it added.
The delegation went and met governor Bose on Sunday on the basis of the statement.
Employee unions claim that state government employees in Bengal currently get 32 per cent less DA compared to their central government counterparts — who get 38 per cent DA — and want the yawning gap to be bridged. Earlier, the state government employees would get DA of 3 per cent. Now, it is 6 per cent.
After the high court last year gave a verdict in favor of the employees’ demand, the state went to the Supreme Court challenging it. The matter is likely to come up next week.
As part of an attempt to convince the SC that the state government is keen on giving DA to its employees, a 3 percent DA hike was announced on the day the state budget was placed last month.
The state government’s stance on the DA gap has been more or less the same, as it seeks to assure its employees that it is not averse to their demand but is constrained by its cash-strapped coffers.
