Telangana employee unions defer protest after govt forms IAS panel for grievances

Hyderabad: Telangana’s joint action committee of employees (TGE-JAC) has temporarily called off its protest slated for May 15, following the formation of a three-member IAS officer panel by the state government to address long-standing employee, teacher, and pensioner issues.

At a meeting held Tuesday at the TNGO office in Hyderabad, union leaders said they were putting the protest on hold for now, but made it clear—this wasn’t a retreat.

Chairman Maram Jagadishwar and General Secretary Eluri Srinivas Rao told reporters that employees weren’t asking for bonuses or extra perks. “We’re not demanding luxuries. Just what’s constitutionally ours,” they said, adding that the government’s public posture might make people blame the employees unfairly.

The central government announces DA hikes in line with inflation, they noted. States are expected to follow suit. Telangana hasn’t. Five DA revisions are pending. In another month, the employee unions said, the sixth will be due.

They demanded the immediate release of ₹10,000 crore in long-pending employee bills, implementation of the health scheme, and resolution of 47 non-financial issues.

Others who spoke at the meeting included leaders P. Damodar Reddy, Chava Ravi, V. Ravinder Reddy, Sadananda Goud, Mujib, A. Satyanarayana, Madhusudan Reddy, Maram Anjireddy, Katakam Ramesh, Chandrasekhar Goud, Manipal Reddy, and Shyam.

Among the resolutions passed:

• Stop dragging issues through committees. Past panels led by Chinna Reddy and later Bhatti Vikramarka didn’t yield solutions. Now with IAS officer Navin Mittal as chair of the new committee, they expect swift action.
• Annual general transfers must be conducted in April-May, not arbitrarily. Transfers done during election season should be cancelled, and employees restored to their home districts.
• Given current global tensions, the JAC’s chairman and general secretary were authorised to take any decision that supports national and state interests.
• Former union leaders must avoid sowing discord between the government and unions. The JAC won’t function as an ally or enemy of any political party.