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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, Nov 20: Over 11,000 talathis in the State succumbed to Revenue Minister Narayan Rane’s threat of suspension and called off their 26-day-old strike.
The talathis had put forth various demands, including the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations. They also wanted pay scales to be on par with gram sevaks’ scales.
However, Rane maintained that with the State Government having decided to implement the D M Sukthankar recommendations on the Fifth Pay Commission report, the talathis’ salaries had gone up by nearly 40 per cent. Moreover, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi had, on Tuesday, announced that over 1,100 new posts of talathis would be filled on an immediate basis to tackle the problems emerging from the strike.
Rane, however, suspended about 1,000 striking talathis. The Revenue Department even initiated the termination process.
Considering that the strike failed to apply the requisite pressure on the government, with an increasing number of talathis reporting to work, theoffice-bearers of their association, the Maharashtra State Talathi Mahasangh, decided to meet Rane.
Accordingly, the delegates called on Rane at Mantralaya this afternoon. Rane refused to accept any of their demands and asked them to call off the strike.
The Mahasangh members succeeded only in getting an assurance from the Revenue Minister that the State Government would withdraw the disciplinary action (suspension) initiated against over 1,000 talathis.
Rane is learnt to have told the Mahasangh delegation that he would be sympathetic to their demand of a revision of pay scales.
