TURA: The week-long strike by several hundred employees of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) has, on Friday, come to an end after the agitating body announced they were withdrawing their protest and would return to their work stations from Monday onward.
The dramatic decision to call off their stir appears to have been taken after the Dipul Marak led Executive Committee in the GHADC took a tough stand against the ongoing protest moving for legal action against the organizers and threat of termination of services of those refusing to join work.
The protest had impacted the normal functioning of the oldest autonomous institution in the Garo Hills for over a week and halted revenue collection and official works, including land documentation.
On Friday, the council authorities issued a final ultimatum to the striking employees, via a notification, warning that unless they returned to work by the first working day of next week- October 1st , the members of the executive body of the agitating Non-Gazetted Employees Association (NGEA) would face termination of their services and the association would also be dissolved.
“Legal course of action will be taken if the non-cooperation movement continues even after dissolution of the executive body of the NGEA,” warned the authorities.
Late Friday afternoon, leaders of the agitating association called on Deputy Chief Executive Member (Dy.CEM) of GHADC, Dolly K Sangma, informing of their decision to withdraw the strike and return to work from next week.
“They told us that they are withdrawing the protest in the interest of Garo Hills and the GHADC which was welcomed by the Executive Committee. They also wanted a written assurance that six months salaries should be immediately released but this was rejected because there are currently no funds in the council treasury,” informed deputy Chairman of GHADC Metrinson G Momin.
He said that the striking leaders were given an assurance that their pending salaries would be top priority for clearance by the EC as soon as funds are obtained.
This is, by far, the longest agitation to face the GHADC in recent times. The employees had organised a strike for three days, last week, after which they announced their indefinite shutdown of the council since last Wednesday.
It was also the first time that a ruling Executive Committee of the GHADC had refused to relent to the demands of the striking group preferring to instead take them head on with the threat of legal course of action and possible termination of services.
To compensate for the loss of working hours due to the strike, the Dipul Marak EC had directed various departments of the GHADC to utilize the services of its muster roll workers in place of the agitating employees.