![VRS given SRTC employees staging protest dharna near Press Club in Jammu on Monday. -Excelsior/Rakesh VRS given SRTC employees staging protest dharna near Press Club in Jammu on Monday. -Excelsior/Rakesh](https://cdndailyexcelsior.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/page10-12.jpg)
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 18: The voluntarily retired SRTC workers staged protest demonstration against the SRTC management and State Government at Exhibition Ground here today.
The agitating workers led by Dev Raj Bali, president, All J&K SRTC Voluntarily Retired Employees Association, assembled at Exhibition Ground near Press Club here in the morning and started protest demonstration. They were shouting slogans in support of their demands and also against the SRTC management and State Finance Department.
Mr Bali while speaking on the occasion strongly criticized the SRTC authorities for not paying arrears of the VRS given SRTC employees. He alleged that over 700 workers of the Corporation are feeling duped as they have been denied their arrears by the management of the SRTC. They are struggling for their hard earned money for the last over five years.
The speakers alleged that hardly 50% arrears have been given to the workers while arrears of the 6th Pay Commission and COLA installments have been denied to them by the SRTC management. They pointed out that during last five years of struggle, 12 VRS/GHS employees have died as they could not afford medical treatment.
They demanded 6th Pay Commission arrears from January I, 2006 and COLA arrears since 1999 besides pension benefits and 8.33 % bonus on the basic pay.
Prominent among those who joined protest included Surinder Singh, Prem Nath, Dwarka Nath, Balwinder Singh, BB Sharma, Gulshan Singh and Kulbir Singh.