Kerala warns dies non and reduce one-day's pay for Wednesday's strike

Government will treat the unauthorised absence of state government employees, who are participating in Wednesday's one-day strike, as dies non and reduce one-day's pay from their salary for February.

A section of the state government employees has decided to observe a strike on Wednesday under the aegis of opposition employee unions, protesting the delay in granting dearness allowance arrears and other benefits.

Government's order regarding the dies non was issued by the general administration department. The order said that unless for exigencies or in unavoidable situations, no leave should be granted for the employees on that day. Those applying for medical leave on the day of strike should produce a medical certificate in the prescribed format with the signature and seal of a government doctor. If the department head feels that the medical certificate is not genuine, the employee should be asked to appear before a medical board.

The order also said that leave applications should immediately be disposed of. Temporary employees who remain absent on that day without permission will be terminated. The department heads should consolidate the details of all the employees who are absent, who have turned up for work and other details before the concerned secretaries before 11.30am on the day of the strike, the order said.

Meanwhile, the secretariat action council, a joint body of the pro-UDF employee organizations, said that the secretariat employees will participate in the strike.

The employees' demands include immediate release of six pending instalments of dearness allowance, restoration of leave surrender, release of pay revision dues, restoration of statutory pension system, rectification of the anomalies in Medisep insurance scheme, the appointment of 12th pay commission, etc.

The action council leaders said that government has not provided any benefits for the last 33 months. Even the dearness allowance has been pending for the last three years. The employees lost the benefit of leave surrender equivalent to the salary amount for four months. Pensioners or the employees are not getting any benefits from the Medisep scheme. Government, which had come to power by promising the scrapping of the contributory pension scheme, is now trying to implement it firmly, they said.