The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition walked out of the Kerala Assembly on Wednesday in protest against the non-disbursal of arrears related to pay revision and Dearness Allowance (DA) to the government employees and teachers in the state.
Congress leader PC Vishunath ,who gave notice to discuss the matter through an adjournment motion, said arrears to the tune of Rs 64,923 crore have been put on hold by the government. The employees have been denied a total of 68 months’ DA causing losses ranging from Rs 43,890 to 3.19 lakh on an average for each employee. He added that leave surrender benefits of government employees have been put on hold for the past five years. This has caused a loss of Rs 4.55 lakh on average for each employee.
Vishnunath gave the notice for adjournment motion in the wake one day strike by government employees and teachers, excluding those affiliated with the CPI-M and BJP, on Wednesday against the non- disbursal of arrears related to pay revision and Dearness Allowance (DA) and the anti-employee policies of the government.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan said no other state government has created such huge arrears to employees and pensioners. Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said the UDF charges are politically motivated, misleading and baseless.
As Speaker AN. Shamseer declined permission to discuss the matter, the Opposition staged a walkout from the Assembly.