Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The indefinite strike called by the non-teaching staff of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University was withdrawn on Wednesday after discussions with the state government, officials said.
The decision was taken following a meeting with Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil at Mantralaya in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Officials said the government agreed to several key demands raised by the employees. These include implementation of salaries as per the Seventh Pay Commission, increment benefits in the ratio of 10:20:30 and immediate disbursal of leave encashment payments.
Authorities said a formal government notification regarding these decisions will be issued after the model code of conduct for the ongoing MLC elections in Maharashtra comes to an end.
The meeting was attended by Higher and Technical Education Principal Secretary Venugopal Reddy, Deputy Secretary Pratap Lubhal, Higher Education Director Dr Shailendra Delankar, State Universities Employees Mahasangh president Ajay Deshmukh and secretary Milind Bhosale, among others.
The details of the discussions were later shared with university employees by Dr Kailas Pathrikar, Anil Khamgaonkar and Manoj Shete during a meeting held on the university campus on Wednesday.
The university employees’ association had announced an indefinite strike beginning June 8 under the leadership of association president Dr Kailas Pathrikar. The agitation was launched over several long-pending demands related to salaries and service benefits.
As part of the protest, employees had worn black badges while working between May 14 and 16. Demonstrations were also staged on Monday and Tuesday in front of the university’s main administrative building.
Following the government’s assurance and acceptance of three major demands, Dr Pathrikar announced during a gate meeting on Wednesday that the strike had been withdrawn.
