Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 31: All J&K SRTC Volunteer Retired Employees Association today staged a protest demonstration here in front of Press Club, against State SRTC for not clearing their pending dues.
Addressing the protesting VRS employees’ Union president, Dev Raj Bali and general secretary, Surinder Singh, strongly criticized the Government and SRTC for not implementing Cabinet decision No 119/10 dated June 6, 2007 and Government Order No 218-F dated July 16, 2007 in true spirit.
“We took VRS/GHS on the assurances that our dues will be released within 60 days but it is sorry to state that we are struggling for the same for last so many years”, they said, adding we have been cheated by the Government by giving us VRS/GHS on false promises.
They said that their case for pending dues like COLA arrears, leave salary, gratuity, ex-gratia grant amounting to Rs 30,16,10, 673 have been lying for last three years in the Finance Department but despite having the funds the department is not releasing the same due to the reasons best known to them.
“It is very strange that 126 slabs of COLA was given to the in-service employees of State SRTC whereas same has been denied to 742 VRS/GHS employees despite the fact that they were in service at the time of implementation of 6th Pay Commission”, said Dev Raj Bali.
Reiterating the demands of the Association, which included clearing 126 slabs of COLA with effect from January 1, 2006, pending arrears since 1999 and 6th Pay Commission arrears with effect from January 1, 2006, Surinder Singh appealed the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene personally to release their pending dues.