Kerala government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and arrested four persons in response to the indefinite strike called by government employees in the state. But most of the five lakh state government employees and teachers remain unperturbed. They have vowed to continue the strike, which enters the secind day on Thursday, till their demands are met. Earlier attempts by the government failed to persuade them from going ahead with the agitation demanding restoration of some of the benefits recently curtailed as part of tackling the state`s acute fiscal crisis.
On Tuesday, the three-hour-long talks failed, with the government and the employees organisations sticking firm to their respective stand. The government explained the compulsions under which it was forced to take the ``harsh`` decisions against the employees, including stoppage of leave encashment. But the employees were adamant that the government should augment the tax collections and realisation of tax arrears to overcome the crisis, instead of cutting down the existing benefits of the government staff.
Bureau Report