Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Joint Action Committee (APJAC), Amaravati, urged the state government to immediately fulfil the promises made to employees in its election manifesto, including the release of pending DA arrears, announcement of Interim Relief (IR), and the constitution of the 12th Pay Revision Commission (PRC) in the next three months.
The APJAC state executive body meeting was held at the Revenue Bhavan here on Saturday to deliberate on unresolved issues of government employees. Addressing the media after the meeting, APJAC chairman Bopparaju Venkateswarlu, secretary general Palisetti Damodara Rao, and leaders Phani Perraju and K Sangeeta Rao expressed concern over the financial hardships being faced by employees.
They said the delay in releasing DA arrears, non-implementation of leave encashment, and pending 11th PRC arrears are causing serious losses for employees and pensioners. Many retirees, they noted, are awaiting dues ranging from Rs 15 to Rs25 lakh, while three DA arrears and surrender leave payments remain unsettled.
Venkateswarlu pointed out that the Joint Staff Council meeting chaired by the chief secretary on August 20 was the result of 15 months of persistent efforts by APJAC Amaravati. However, despite detailed discussions with officials, no major decisions were taken. The subsequent state Cabinet meeting on August 21, he said, completely ignored employees’ issues, leading to widespread disappointment.
The JAC leaders demanded that the government announce IR as promised, clear all arrears including those linked to the 11th PRC, gratuity, and leave encashment for retirees. They also urged Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to personally intervene and address the long-pending grievances through the proposed Cabinet subcommittee.
Further, the APJAC pressed for the regularisation of 7,000 contract employees, extension of welfare schemes to outsourced staff, promotions and notional increments for village/ward secretariat employees based on seniority, and direct recruitment only for Panchayat Secretary Grade-6 posts.
The leaders announced that the next APJAC state executive meeting will be held in three months and called upon the government to resolve these issues at the earliest in the interest of the employees. Leaders from various government employees’ associations affiliated with APJAC, Amaravati, also participated in the meeting.
