Karnataka govt employees call off strike following 17% interim pay hike offer

Bengaluru: Barely hours after they started their indefinite strike, Karnataka state government employees Wednesday called off the agitation.

The decision came following the Bommai administration’s offer of granting 17 per cent interim relief in basic salary, and constituting a committee to evaluate the feasibility of withdrawing from the National Pension Scheme.

While the hike will be applicable from April 1, the government will take a call on the demand for the old pension scheme, after the committee files its observations in around two months time.

Karnataka State Government Employees Association President C.S. Shadakshari announced immediate withdrawal of the strike but insisted that they would resume their agitation if the government did not meet their remaining demands.

Earlier, on Tuesday night, the employees association had rejected the government’s offer of 8 per cent hike against the demand for 40 per cent fitment in basic. Thereafter, the employees decided to begin their indefinite strike from Wednesday morning. Health and other crucial government services were affected by the strike early on Wednesday morning.

The employees, however, relented following Chief Minister Bommai’s announcement on Wednesday.