Kolkata, March 13 A commotion broke out outside Khadya Bhavan, the headquarters of the West Bengal Food and Civil Supplies Department, on Friday as a section of state government employees tried to prevent colleagues from entering the office during a ‘work stoppage’ agitation over pending Dearness Allowance (DA).
The protest was organized by the ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’ (Joint Movement Forum) to pressure the state government to pay the outstanding DA and implement a recent Supreme Court directive on the issue.
Forum leader Bhaskar Ghosh claimed that most state government employees had abstained from work, and said that the protesters appealed to those who came to work to stay away in solidarity with the agitation.
“We offered red roses to those who came to work, requesting them not to attend the office,” he told reporters. “Many listened, while those who did not acted according to their conscience.”
Ghosh denied allegations that the protesters had blocked vehicles from entering the premises on Free School Street, and alleged that “provocations came from a few pro-TMC government employees”.
However, a spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress-affiliated state government employees' union claimed that attendance in offices remained “100 per cent” despite the agitation, and said that the employees supported the “people-friendly and government-friendly policies” of the Mamata Banerjee administration.
Members of the forum also staged demonstrations outside government offices in several districts, including Berhampur, Bankura, Barasat, Malda, and Midnapore, urging colleagues to refrain from work.
According to the forum, employees participating in the protest would refrain from performing official duties during the day-long agitation.
The ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’ alleged that the state government had not taken adequate steps to implement the Supreme Court’s directive to follow a phased process for paying DA to employees in line with those in the central government.
The apex court had also directed the state to pay 25 per cent of the DA arrears accumulated between 2008 and 2019 by March 31, but the government had made little visible progress in this regard, the forum claimed.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Finance Department issued a memorandum, making attendance compulsory for all state government employees on Friday.
The directive stated that all state government offices and institutions receiving grants-in-aid must remain fully functional, and employees would not be allowed to take casual leave or any other form of absence on that day.
It warned that any unauthorized absence would be treated as "dies-non" – resulting in a loss of pay for the day and a break in service record.
The order clarified that employees already on sanctioned maternity leave, child care leave, medical leave, or earned leave approved before March 12 would not be affected. Absence due to hospitalization, bereavement in the family, or serious illness beginning before March 12 would also be exempt, subject to verification.
Official sources said that attendance remained high at several West Bengal government offices in the city, including at the secretariat ‘Nabanna’, as well as in block offices, municipalities, panchayats, and state-aided educational institutions across the state.
The dispute over DA parity between the state government and a section of employees has been ongoing for several years, with employees demanding parity with central government staff and payment of arrears pending since 2008.
Leader of the Opposition, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, has extended support to the striking employees and warned that any "vindictive action" by the state government against the protesters would not be tolerated.