The Jayalalithaa government today sacked nearly 15,000 assistants and junior assistants who were hired on contract basis last July.With the cash-strapped government running up a bill of Rs 60 crore for the temporary staff over the past 10 months, Chief Secretary Lakshmi Pranesh, in a sudden directive this evening, asked all departments to retrench them with immediate effect. These temporary staff were recruited by district collectorates and the state Secretariat in place of the over 1.5 lakh government employees who were dismissed for going on strike in June 2003.With the government reinstating sacked employees on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, it is now marching orders for the temporary staff.
