Hyderabad, August 09: Andhra Pradesh government employees in Telangana on Monday kicked off protests in support of the separate statehood demand, among others, which will culminate in a general strike from August 17.
The pro-Telangana government employees held protests, including lunch-hour demonstrations and ‘work to rule’, in their offices in Hyderabad and other Telangana districts.
The government employees unions plan to intensify their stir in a phased manner.
On the occasion, Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers Association leader K Swamy Goud and others slammed the state government’s move to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance (ESMA) Act against the employees.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana employees, teachers and gazetted officers had on August 5 boycotted crucial talks with the Andhra Pradesh cabinet sub-committee over the proposed general strike from August 17, demanding withdrawal of certain orders invoking ESMA.
The JAC also demanded an assurance from the government that ESMA would not be invoked against employees, as a pre- requisite for holding talks. It also wanted immediate withdrawal of para-military and security forces deployed in government offices.
The JAC had served a notice on the government late last month threatening to go on an indefinite general strike from August 1 demanding apart from service-related issues, the creation of Telangana state. Subsequently, the strike was put off till August 17.
–PTI