Unionism in all the professional fields has a long history and importance to address the common issues. The employees have had various issues, pertaining to their service conditions and the employees rights, which have been resolved by their respective employees unions, after taking them up with higher authorities.
J&K is the state where unionism has played and is playing a more crucial role, as the employees in state are subjected to various disparities and inequalities with respect to their payment of wages due to worst financial position of the state. History is witness that trade unionism has always remained non-political in nature. However there are various trade union leaders after proving their mettle in the trade unions later joined politics. Mr Khursheed Alam, Mr Muntazir Mohiuddin and now Mr Abdul Qayoom Wani are some of the examples.
The debarment of rights to various cadres of employees of the state has a reason of financial insufficiency in the state due to decades long dispute.
The financial crises have remained always there in Jammu and Kashmir with the result employees bearing the brunt. Be that salary related issues or service conditions unions have been always up in arms against the authorities.
History is witness, no issue of government employees in the state has got resolved without a proper intervention of forum representatives of employees or without going through a series of protests. There were the issues of implementing the benefits of 6th pay commission, 7th pay commission , enhancement of retirement age, various issues pertaining to regularisation of employees, pay anomalies etc. which settled only after the intervention of unions and their peaceful protests.
Trade unions here successfully agitated to settle the issue of thousands of teachers who were deprived of the benefits of 7th pay commission and about the timely release of their salaries. Pertinently they were regular state government employees recruited under a state based scheme under a proper order entitling them to be given every benefit after five years of tenure. But mismanagement of successive regimes in the state and the bad financial position of state had compelled the government to debar them from their deserved benefits.
Unfortunately some unemployed youth who having no knowledge about recruitment rules of Rehbar-e-Taleem Teachers (ReTs) staged protests recently against the said government decision and created a fuss. But they hardly know the fact that their recruitment and regularisation was due and predefined according to the government order No 396- Edu of 2000, but Jammu and Kashmir being financially unsound state had dragged teachers to streets to fight for their rights. Thank God, the chronic issue was finally addressed after the teachers unions combinedly staged countless protests.
Employees have got a right to highlight their issues in a peaceful way, so the unionism has a role to play. However keeping in view the personal interests of many trade union leaders, who after serving the employees as union leaders chose to serve the people by joining politics. But at the same time we as employees should remain very much thankful to those leaders who have helped us out and have succeeded to create histories by achieving the deserved rights for employees, which we can never forget.
Azad Hussain Ganaie
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