Asks govt to pay dues or face legal action
Dimapur, December 21 (MExN): District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) employees, who have been protesting since mid-November, have refused to call off the strike till their unpaid salaries are cleared in full.
The employees have given the state government till January 15, 2022 to pay the dues in full, failing which they would “be forced to take legal action.”
Speaking to The Morung Express over the phone, an employee who did not wish to be named said the period for which they were unpaid varied from district to district and ranged from 3 to 9 months. “We were given 2 month’s salary last month and requested to call off the agitation but we are not satisfied. We want what is due to us,” the employee asserted.
A joint press release was also issued on Tuesday by the officers and staff of DRDAs of six districts— Dimapur, Longleng, Kiphire, Phek, Mokokchung, and Tuensang, stating that it had received appeals from the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Nagaland, Rural Development and the Director, RD Blocks asking them to call off their agitation.
However, the release stated that the authorities “did not assure any date in clearing the pending salary,” and as such, unanimously refused to concede to the appeals.
Instead, it said that the delays in salaries have been the prevailing trend and employees have been resorting to appeals and protests to demand for the unpaid salaries since 2014. Stating that no favourable outcome has been witnessed till date, it said that a unanimous resolution was adopted and the employees would pursue the matter in court if their dues are not cleared by January 15, 2022.
“Once it becomes a legal matter, the authority shall be held liable for attorney’s fee and court cost related to the law suit. The authority shall be held liable to pay all the interest accrues as required legally,” it added.
Meanwhile, the release also cautioned other employees from taking the ‘upper hand’ and creating any situation that would obstruct the process and divert the agitation from its intended course.
