TURA, May 6: Defying the warning of action issued against them by the new executive committee of the GHADC, the NGEA on Thursday chose to remain firm on their stand and decided to continue their ongoing protest in the form of work boycott unless a year’s salary in the revised scale is released to them one time.
The NGEA in a statement said that ‘the new EC was just old wine in a new bottle’ and that nothing much was to be expected of it.
“Threatening us with termination, warning of serious consequences is not a new thing as the previous EC under the NPP had also resorted to such tactics. We have been harassed enough by the previous EC by keeping our salaries pending for more than 30 months. Let them not pay our salary for the duration of our agitation but we have the legal right to receive all our pending salaries,” its Joint Secretary, Flaming B Marak said.
Reacting to recent news reports based on council sources that the GHADC had suffered revenue loss to the tune of Rs 4 crores due to their ongoing protest, the NGEA sought a clarification from the authorities on the total amount of revenue collection for 34 months (the duration of the total pending salaries) as their agitation had been for barely two months. The NGEA also recalled news reports that the monthly revenue collection in the GHADC was Rs 1.5 crore and questioned how the amount had escalated to Rs 4 crores during their barely two month long agitation.
The NGEA also recalled the statement of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma during his election campaign where he had urged voters to choose the party which is in power in the state as it is only they which can give financial assistance to the GHADC.
“The NPP is in power in the state and the same party has formed the new EC in the GHADC. Why is the Chief Minister not willing to bail out the GHADC by releasing the salaries of the employees who have been suffering since the past three years!?” the NGEA asked.