Kerala govt accused of defaulting on employee benefits; minister rejects claims

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 22 (PTI) The Congress-led opposition on Wednesday accused the Kerala government of defaulting on various service benefits owed to lakhs of government employees and pensioners. Finance Minister K N Balagopal rejected the claim, asserting that the LDF government is the most compassionate toward its employees nationwide.

Raising the issue in the Assembly, the opposition UDF alleged that the Left dispensation owed one lakh crore rupees to government employees. Despite withholding such a huge amount, the UDF claimed that the financial position of the state remains poor.

UDF leaders also staged a walkout in the House to protest the failure to take up the "serious matter" for discussion during the zero hour.

The opposition raised the issue on the same day when a section of government employees organised a state-wide agitation, demanding salary revision, reinstatement of leave surrender, clearance of dearness allowance dues, and more.

The strike was supported by trade unions affiliated with opposition parties, as well as the CPI, a coalition partner in the LDF.

Seeking notice for an adjournment motion, Congress's P C Vishnunath urged the government to address the demands of government employees with empathy and requested that they not be treated as if they belonged to an elite class.

He alleged that the Pinarayi Vijayan government had taken away many of the service benefits enjoyed by government employees during the previous UDF administrations.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he said the employees, who publicly praise him as an able administrator, are secretly lamenting being denied their deserved service benefits under his rule.

Leader of Opposition, V D Satheesan, intensified his attack on the Left government, stating that the dues to be paid to employees for dearness allowance, leave surrender, and pay revision amounted to Rs 35,000 crore, Rs 24,500 crore, and Rs 5,500 crore, respectively.

He also alleged that the service weightage in the pay revision was disregarded, allowing the government to reap additional profits. Apart from this, he added, their benefits, such as city compensatory allowances, were also taken away.

Alleging that no government in Kerala’s history had ever defaulted on such large payments, the Leader of Opposition also pointed out that employees have not received their benefits for the past six months during the 103-month tenure of the Vijayan government.

However, Minister Balagopal rejected the opposition's charges, stating that no other state government in the country treats its employees as compassionately as Kerala does.

Claiming that many of the allegations raised by the UDF were not entirely factual, he affirmed that the Left government is committed to ensuring all deserving benefits for the employees.

The government does not view employees as a liability, he said, adding that the LDF believes the state can only progress with capable employees and a strong civil service.

Highlighting various employment-friendly initiatives, Balagopal stated that the government had implemented pay revisions even during the Covid-19 period, bearing a financial burden of Rs 20,000, in this regard.

He further stated that pay revision dues amounting to Rs 600 crore would be given this year itself and distributed accordingly.

The finance minister also highlighted that Kerala is the only state to ensure 30 days of leave surrender for its employees.

As Speaker A N Shamseer denied leave for the motion, UDF members staged a protest walkout in the House.

Meanwhile, a large number of government employees and teachers stayed away from work in various state-run institutions and public sector undertakings as part of the state-wide agitation, despite the government's "dies-non" (no work, no pay) policy. PTI LGK SSK KH