Maharashtra CM Shinde's plea fails, state government employee unions continue strike

Despite Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s appeal, state government employees’ unions continued their protest for the second consecutive day, refusing to engage with the state government committee. The striking employees are demanding the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). This stalemate could lead to the state government taking action against employees.

On Monday, Shinde had announced a panel comprising senior bureaucrats to look into the demand of the state government employees to revert to the OPS.

In almost all districts of Maharashtra, state government machinery ground to a virtual halt on Day 2 of the strike. All 35 organisations have now joined hands in the strike. Vishwas Katkar, the convener of these unions, rejected the CM’s appeal and said that the employees would continue with the strike until the state government came up with concrete proposals.

“The state government had formed a similar panel in 2018 also but nothing came of it. So, forming a committee is no solution to the issue. The government should put out a concrete proposal on how they will implement the old pension scheme,” said Katkar.

Meanwhile, reports from all over the state suggest that the functioning of the revenue, irrigation, and public works departments have completely been affected, as all Grade 3 and 4 employees are on strike.

The health department is the worst-affected. State-run hospitals in districts and tehsils have almost stopped functioning, with doctors being forced to postpone surgeries.

Shinde, in his appeal, said that the state government would set up a three-member committee comprising retired IAS officers, which would submit its report within three months. Further, Shinde had also assured that the government would take care of the future of the employees after retirement.