Maharashtra staff unions serve strike notice for April 21 over pension, recruitment issues

Government schools and government offices in Maharashtra face potential closure from April 21 as 1.7 million employees and teachers decide to go on indefinite strike.

The decision, announced by the Government, Semi-Government, Teacher and Non-Teaching Employees Coordination Committee on March 7, followed months of unresolved grievances, ranging from pension rules to chronic staff shortages.

Vishwas Katkar of the State Government Employees Central Union Coordination Committee said, “We have held seven meetings so far. We are trying to draw the government’s attention to the issue. But the government has not fulfilled its promises made to us earlier.”

“The protesters will include 5.5 lakh Class III, Class IV State government employees (employees of state secretariat, sales tax department, etc.), 7 lakh teachers and non-teaching staff of zilla parishad and nagar parishad schools, 3.5 lakh Zilla Parishad Class III and Class IV employees (having semi-government status) and Nagar Parishad employees,” he added.

The employee unions have officially informed the State government of their decision to continue the agitation. Chairman of the Meeting, Mr. Katkar, stated that despite the assurances given following the meetings with the previous management, some basic demands have not yet been met.

While the government approved a revised pension scheme on the Centre’s model in March 2024, employees point out that there is no official notification detailing the procedures and conditions. Unions claim this deprives people who have retired after that date of temporary retirement benefits.

A memorandum submitted by the coordinating committee lists many pending issues. He notes that filling vacancies continues at a slow pace, adding workload to existing staff. The committee called for the regularization of contract workers, some of whom are employed in sanctioned roles for up to ten years. It also requests consideration of appointing candidates on waiting lists on compassionate grounds as a one-off measure, citing age restrictions that make many applicants ineligible.

Other demands include increasing the retirement age to 60 years, which is the norm in 26 other states, and implementing a ’10:20:30′ guaranteed career progression scheme for teachers and non-teaching staff. Teachers in partially aided schools appointed before 1 November 2005 are seeking cover under the Legacy Pension Scheme.

Unions also IV. The class also criticized the moratorium on hiring employees and drivers and called for a reconsideration of the policy, saying it was unenforceable. They suggested the establishment of a periodic dialogue forum at the Prime Minister level to address sector-specific concerns.

Mr. Katkar said that the decision to strike was taken by the state government after observing that the government was not responding to long pending issues. The proposed action, scheduled to begin on April 21, is expected to attract the participation of employees in government departments, semi-governmental institutions, municipal councils and the health and education sectors.