The state government employees in West Bengal have called for a strike on Friday, demanding payment of their dearness allowance (DA) arrears. In response, the West Bengal government has issued a notification warning of action against employees who remain absent from work during the protest.However, the notification will not apply to those who are hospitalised, experiencing a death in the family, suffering from severe illness, or had prior leave sanctioned before March 9, including childcare, maternity, and medical leave.
According to the notification issued by the West Bengal finance department, employees who remain absent from work without being exempted will be issued a show-cause notice, and if an unsatisfactory explanation is provided, the absence will be treated as a break of service, and no salary will be admissible for that day.Despite the notification, joint forum representatives have stated that they will continue with the strike, as the state government had issued a similar warning last month during a pen-down strike at state government offices.
The forum office bearer said, "We are pushed to the wall. The court has even observed that dearness allowance is the right of the employees and not a fruit of charity. So come what may, we continue with our strike."On March 6, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had stated during an Assembly session that her government would not be able to provide additional dearness allowance to state government employees "even if she is beheaded."
