JACTTO-GEO strike put off till Jan 7 hearing

A public interest litigation petition filed by Loganathan of Madurai came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Justices K K Sasidharan and G R Swaminathan.

Appearing on behalf of the State Government, its counsel said though the state government was in deep financial crisis, it was considering the implementation of the recommendations made by the T S Sridhar committee, which was constituted to examine the demand for continuing the old pension scheme. The report of the committee was submitted in November.

After hearing the case, the bench directed the State to submit the report submitted by the Sridhar Committee in a sealed cover. It also directed the one-man committee, headed by M A Siddique, to submit its report. The committee was looking into the issue of salary arrears, which has been pending for a period of 21 months since January 1, 2016. The judges then posted the case for further hearing on January 7 next year.

Speaking to reporters in Madurai, M Subramanian, coordinator, JACTTO-GEO, said members of the organisation were hopeful that that the court would give a favourable verdict in the case.

The organisation originally planned to go on an indefinite strike from December 4 pressing its demands, which included restoration of the old pension scheme and settlement of the salary arrears.

“Since the case has been adjourned to January 7 next year, we have decided to postpone the proposed strike and wait for the court’s decision,” Subramanian said.