JCC pen-down strike disrupts functioning of Nagaland govt offices

Kohima, Oct 15 (PTI) The pen-down strike called by the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) demanding cancellation of the proposed induction of a non-NCS officer into the IAS cadre disrupted the functioning of government offices across Nagaland for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.

The JCC - comprising five major associations of Nagaland government employees - Confederation of All Nagaland State Services Employees Association (CANSSEA), Nagaland In-Service Doctors Association (NIDA), Nagaland Secretariat Service Association (NSSA), Nagaland Finance and Accounts Service Association (NF&ASA), and Federation of Nagaland State Engineering Service Association (FONSESA) - launched the third phase of their agitation on Tuesday.

The strike is aimed at pressing the state government to withdraw the move to include a non-NCS officer for IAS induction and to uphold meritocracy in the selection process.

A JCC spokesperson told PTI that the second day of the strike passed off peacefully, with cooperation and support from all directorates in the state capital, as well as departments in the districts and sub-divisional headquarters.

The spokesperson said that during the day, Chief Secretary Sentiyanger Imchen convened a meeting with officials and representatives of the JCC and the five associations at his chamber in the secretariat.

While there was no conclusive outcome, the JCC and presidents of the employees' bodies apprised the chief secretary of their two principal demands: Withdrawal of the non-state cadre candidate’s name from the panel list sent to the UPSC for IAS induction, and restoration of the NPSC clause in future IAS induction processes to permanently uphold merit-based selection.

The employee associations reiterated their stand that the government must adhere to its earlier Office Memorandums of 2001 and 2016, which mandated recruitment strictly through the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) or by open advertisement.

According to the JCC spokesperson, the chief secretary assured that the committee’s demands would be placed before the state Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday for consideration.

The JCC further stated that since Thursday marks the final day of their third-phase agitation, they would take a final call on their next course of action depending on the outcome of the Cabinet meeting. PTI NBS NBS RG