AP JAC Amaravati defers protest after CM's assurances on PRC, DA, pension

The Andhra Pradesh Joint Action Committee (AP JAC), Amaravati, has decided to temporarily defer its proposed agitation following assurances from the State government on several long-pending demands of employees and pensioners. The decision was taken at a joint state-level executive meeting of AP JAC Amaravati and its women's wing, chaired by its chairman Bopparaju Venkateswarlu at Revenue Bhavan on Sunday.

The employees' body expressed gratitude to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for announcing a series of measures, including the appointment of a Pay Revision Commission (PRC), release of two instalments of dearness allowance (DA), restoration of additional pension for pensioners, sanction of surrender leave for employees and police personnel, and steps concerning the use of Employee Health Cards.

However, several district leaders voiced dissatisfaction over the lack of clarity on the Interim Relief (IR) sought by employees and the payment of pending arrears. Taking note of these concerns, the executive decided to wait for a reasonable period, given the Chief Minister's assurance that a decision on IR would be taken at the earliest.

The JAC urged the government to announce and implement IR at the earliest, citing the financial difficulties faced by employees, pensioners and their families. It also sought a clear roadmap for clearing arrears and requested that the dues be reflected in employees' pay slips.

The organisation maintained that employees who participated in the agitation across the State were the 'main stakeholders' in its outcome. It appreciated the state, district, divisional, mandal and field-level leadership for implementing the programmes called by the JAC.

The JAC also urged the government to direct the PRC to submit its report within six months, pointing out that the appointment of the commission had already been delayed. It called upon the Group of Ministers constituted by the government to hold discussions on the remaining 30 major demands raised by AP JAC Amaravati and arrive at clear solutions within a stipulated timeframe.

The JAC resolved to continuously review the implementation of the decisions announced by the government and warned that the agitation could be resumed if the interests and legitimate rights of employees were adversely affected. It said it would extend constructive cooperation to the government as long as it demonstrated sincerity in resolving employees' issues. At the same time, its leadership and employees would remain prepared to launch democratic protests if there was undue delay or neglect in addressing their legitimate demands.

State office-bearers and district-level representatives, including State publicity secretary R. Srinivasa Rao and NTR district chairman Battina Ramakrishna, attended the meeting.