Various associations representing West Bengal government employees, organized under the Sangrami Joutho Mancha, initiated a ‘cease-work’ protest on Friday. The protest aimed to address the government’s alleged inaction regarding the disbursement of Dearness Allowance (DA). While the protest did not impact all government offices uniformly, certain places experienced a partial response, notably affecting state-run schools and courts, including the Calcutta High Court.
The forum’s convener, Bhaskar Ghosh, highlighted significant participation in the strike despite opposition from the ruling Trinamool Congress-affiliated employees’ association. The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, expressed support for the protest, stating readiness to stand by any employee facing penal action for participating in the ‘cease-work.’ The Joint Movement Forum criticized the state government for not complying with the Supreme Court’s directive to disburse 25% of DA arrears from 2008 to 2019 by March 31.
According to Bhaskar Ghosh, the state government’s failure to act on the DA arrears led to the decision to enforce a complete ‘cease-work.’ The government sought an extension until December to settle the arrears, contrary to the court’s order. This prompted the employees to escalate their protest. The situation remains tense as the employees demand alignment of their DA payments with those of Central government staff.
