Resurgent Employee Unions In Kashmir Pin Hopes On Newly Elected J&K Govt

The employee unions, dormant during the LG Manoj Sinha led administration are showing resurgence after the new government took over, reports ETV Bharat's Mir Farhat.

Srinagar: With the return of an elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, the silent government employee unions in the union territory and those employees terminated after the abrogation of the Article 370 have started speaking and expect their voices will be heard and cases reviewed.

A day after National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah took office as chief minister and his five cabinet ministers started office in the civil secretariat in Srinagar, the employee unions in Kashmir began inviting the media to welcome Omar Abdullah and his cabinet.

These union leaders were largely silent and in hiding after the abrogation of article 370 and a gag order which was issued by the Lieutenant Governor administration in November 2023, warning them against protests.

In their high pitched tones, the leaders reminded Omar-led government of the promises he has made in his party’s manifesto which promises much about the governance, welfare and revoking many of the decisions which the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha took after he took the reins of Jammu and Kashmir administration on August 20, 2020.

Employees Joint Action Committee leaders Sajad Ahmad and Wajahat Durrani looked upbeat about an elected government now in place.

Ahmad, who works in Jal Shakti department and heads its union, said that the Omar Abdullah government has promised to regularise daily wagers and he should deliver on his as he has got a majority of seats and a stable support.

Durrani, who works in State Road Transport Corporation said that EJAC kept raising the voice of the employees after August 5, 2019, and “we will keep raising the issues of the employees”

“EJAC welcomes the people’s government. It is our responsibility to work with the government with loyalty and honesty. Since we are the employees of the same government, we assure the government to work with them for smooth governance. The NC government has enlisted redressal of the issues of the employees and we will be reminding Omar Sahab of the manifesto about the employees,” he told ETV Bharat.

He said that in 2008-2014, when Omar Abdullah was chief minister he resolved many issues of the employees. “We hope that Omar sahib will resolve our issues in his second term,” he said.

Aijaz Ahmad Khan, an employee of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department, who is president of the Employees Joint Consultative Committee, said the government must fulfill the promises it made with the people and employees in the assembly elections.

“We expect the elected government to give freedom to protest and raise our voice. We will send a memorandum of demands to the chief minister and his cabinet, and will also seek appointment with the chief minister and his cabinet ministers,” Khan told ETV Bharat.

Gag Order Holds The Key

But there is a catch to the revival of the employee unions and their protests: An order issued by the government’s General Administration Department (GAD) on November 3, 2023 which warned of strict action against the employees for taking to the streets.

Fayaz Ahmad, a government teacher, and who heads the Jammu and Kashmir Employees Coordination Committee, said the LG administration through the General Administration Department (GAD) had imposed a ban on the employees’ protests.

“We urge the government, LG and security agencies to review the order,” he said.

The circular issued on November 3, 2023 cited that as per the Rule 20 (ii) of Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1971, any demonstrations and strikes by the employees are an act of serious indiscipline and misconduct.

The LG administration had warned that strict disciplinary action will be taken against any employee who is found indulging in organizing demonstration(s) and strike(s) in terms of the rule mentioned supra. Rule (ii) of J&K Employee Conduct Rules bars the government employees from organizing or participating in any form of strike in connection with their service matter or the service matter of other government employees.

“Therefore, all Administrative Secretaries are requested to circulate these instructions to employees in their respective Department(s) to desist from all such uncalled for demonstrations and strikes: an act of serious indiscipline and misconduct,” the GAD circular had said.

Durrani said that he had protested against the ban order of 3 November 2023, but the other unions who were “hiding in holes” are now active after the government formation.

“We will ask the chief minister and his government to revoke or modify the order,” he said.

Many analysts believe that the activation of the trade unions soon after the elected government formation was a “signal” to the Omar-led government of a formidable opposition to remind him of the promises he has made in the manifesto.

But Durrani disagreed, arguing that the “re-activation” is not a “signal” but expectations from an elected and “own” government.

“We have people’s government now, and democracy has been restored. People have expectations from the government. So our activation is a reaction to the restoration of voices in the public sphere,” he said.

Employees Terminated Under Article 311

Among the many issues the 4.5 lakh employees in Jammu and Kashmir are grappling with, the termination of the 74 employees by the LG, invoking Article 311 (2), is a challenging one for the unions and the Omar-led government too.

Khan said that the termination of the employees was “one sided decision and those employees were not given any chance to be heard.

“We urge the chief minister Omar Abdullah to give them a chance. We make it clear that the EJCC does not support anti-national people, but we know many of the employees were innocent,” he said.

Durrani said the elected government must review the cases of the dismissed and suspended employees by ordering a fair probe, “punish the guilty and reinstate the innocent”.

A terminated employee said that the elected government is not only a source of hope for their reinstatement but a matter of justice which Omar Abdullah promised in the NC manifesto.

“It is not a matter of hope, but a matter of the mandate people have given to Omar Abdullah. He must live up to the mandate and justice which the NC has promised in its manifesto. Let the government start reviewing the files and reinstate the employees,” a terminated employee, wishing anonymity, told ETV Bharat.

“What will be the difference between an elected government and an imposed bureaucratic rule if the elected government does not address our cases?” the employee asked.

The LG administration has dismissed 74 government employees under Article 311(2) (c) of the Constitution after the abrogation of article 370 and the division of Jammu and Kashmir state into two union territories of JK and Ladakh.

Article 311(2) of the Constitution states that public servants cannot be removed from service without an inquiry and a reasonable opportunity of being heard. However, sub-clause (C) of the provision (2) of the Article states that this is not mandatory if the president or the governor is satisfied that an inquiry is not required in the interest of security. This provision authorises the government to sack employees without an inquiry if the President or the Governor is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the state, it is not expedient to hold such inquiry.

Among the 74 dismissed were professors, doctors, policemen and other employees. 67 of the terminated employees are from Kashmir while the seven are from the Chenab and Pir Panjal districts of the Jammu region.

Tanvir Sadiq, National Conference chief spokesperson and legislator from Zadibal assembly constituency in Srinagar, said the NC-led government is a “popular government in which every person will have the right to protest in a peaceful manner”.

“We will review everything. This is a popular government, government of the people and we will ensure that everybody has the right to speak, but in a proper, peaceful manner. The National Conference is bound by its promise that we will listen to every one; be it a common man or a government employee to fulfill their genuine demands,” Sadiq told ETV Bharat.

On reinstating the terminated employees, he said that the party has promised in its manifesto to review cases of terminated employees.

“The government will need some time to relook all those cases,” Sadiq said.