Telangana: With Polls Near, Unions List Out Their Demands

HYDERABAD: The BRS is facing mounting pressure from government employee unions, teachers’ unions and pensioners to constitute a pay revision committee (PRC), after the last body finished its tenure on June 30, to fulfil promises made to them ahead of the Assembly elections.

Sources said that employee unions raise demands during elections, as governments would be more agreeable at the time due to political compulsions, against the backdrop of the BJP and Congress already having extended their support to the unions.

Congress and BJP leaders have been accusing union leaders of colluding with the government, to pressurise them to seek fulfilment of demands, and are also hitting the streets with unions to take on the government.

Major employee unions, including those of TNGOs (Telangana non-gazetted officers), TGOs and teachers unions, mainly PRTU and UTF, have stepped up activities to press the government to announce the PRC.

Among the various groups, government teachers have especially stepped up pressure on the state government for promotions and transfers, while employees covered under CPS (contributory pension scheme) have decided to launch agitation programmes from July 16 to demand the restoration of the OPS (old pension scheme), which is being supported by all the unions.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao constituted the first PRC in 2018, to implement revisions from July 1 of that year, but the revisions only came into force from April 2021. As the PRC could submit its report only by December 2020, Rao announced a 30 per cent fitment (hike in basic pay) in March 2021.

Around 1.7 lakh employees and teachers covered under the CPS have decided to launch ‘OPS Rath Yatra’, covering all 33 districts from July 16, demanding restoration of OPS. They question why while six states have abolished CPS, the Telangana government couldn’t follow suit.