Kolkata, Feb 19 (IANS): West Bengal government has decided to act tough against those state government employees who will be participating at the proposed two-day pen-down strike on Monday and Tuesday on the issue of pending dearness allowance arrears.
The state finance department issued a late-evening notification on Saturday claiming that those who will abstain from service will be subjected to 'dies non' (break of service) for those two days and no salary will be admissible to them for those two days.
The state finance department has also made it clear that no state government employee will be allowed to opt for a casual leave on that day, with exception to those who are already on pre- approved earned leave or other leaves like child care leave or maternity leave.
In case any employee remains absent on the two or any of the two days, the department concerned will issue a show-cause notice. In absence of a satisfactory reply, dies non will be applicable and salary will be deducted for the day or days of absence.
Reacting to the notification, the office-bearers of the joint forum of state government employees, who have convened the two-day pen-down strike said on Sunday morning that it out of sheer desperation and fear that the state government is resorting to such an undemocratic notification to undermine the employees' democratic right to protest.
"The state government employees have been observing sit-in demonstration for the last 22 days. The state government did not feel the necessity to talk to them even once. Actually, the state government is scared that the movement on this issue will take a massive shape in the coming days," said a forum officer-bearer participating in the agitation.
On February 15, the West Bengal minister of state for finance (independent charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya had announced three per cent additional DA for the state government employees. But the forum pointed out that the three per cent additional DA was just an eyewash since even after this, the gap of the state government employees with that of their counterparts in the Union government remains 32 per cent.