The strike called by the employees and teachers in Kerala entered the second week on Wednesday as the government machinery continued to be virtually paralysed with no signs of a settlement in the sir.
Vast majority of staff and teachers continued to stay away from work protesting against curtailing of their perks despite the Congress-led UDF government clamping Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA).
The pro-Left Federation of State Employees and Teachers Organisations (FETO), pro-Congress State Employees and Teachers Organisations (SETO) and pro-BJP NGO Sangh went on one of the biggest staff strikes seen by the state from February 6 after last-minute talks with the government broke down.
Chief Minister A K Antony had persistently rejected the employees' demand for restoration of their curtailed perks like earned leave surrender enforced as part of cost-slashing process in the face of the worst financial crunch faced by the state in recent times.
Public utilities and emergency services like health, electricity, transport and water supply have been exempted from the strike. Universities and civic bodies, however, have been affected.
Nearly a dozen employees have so far been arrested under ESMA and about 60 others under other charges. Bureau Report