DA arrears: Date of strike by Bengal govt employees postponed by a day

Kolkata, Feb 22 (IANS) The joint forum of state government employees in West Bengal on Wednesday postponed its proposed date of strike in demand of the pending dearness allowances by a day.

On Wednesday morning, although the joint forum said that the strike on this count at all state government offices throughout the state will be observed on March 9, in the evening, they made a fresh announcement that the strike date has been postponed by a day to March 10.

A spokesman of the joint forum said that the decision to postpone the strike date has been taken keeping in mind that on March 9, there will be examinations conducted by the West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education (WBBME).

"We do not want any inconvenience caused to the examinees because of our strike. That is exactly why we have decided to call the strike on a date when there will be no examination. We need a bigger support of the people in our movement which we are already getting. Precisely that is why we have decided to keep all emergency services out of the ambit of the strike," he said.

The joint forum has already observed a two- day pen-down strike at the state government offices on Monday and Tuesday, where the employees reported at their respective offices and marked their attendance but refrained from performing their regular duties, as a result of which normal workflow was affected.

However, on March 10, the employees will neither report on duty nor mark their attendance and rather will stage protest demonstrations in front of the different state government offices throughout the district.