'No work, no pay' order kept in abeyance

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to keep in abeyance its recent order on ‘no-work, no pay’ in the wake of adverse reaction from the unions of government employees and political parties.

Though chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy clarified that GO 177 was a mere reinstatement of what was already there in the government service rules and other Acts, unions and political parties had pressed for its withdrawal.

Further, the employees associations and some political leaders had announced an agitation programme against the order starting Monday.

Briefing the media after a Cabinet meeting here, state finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy said, “The chief minister has decided to entrust the matter to the Group of Ministers, which has been negotiating with government employees on various issues. If necessary the GoM will discuss the issue with the employees representatives before taking a final decision. Till such time, the GO will be kept in abeyance.”

About 300,000 government employees, teachers and employees in government undertakings in the Telangana region had staged a two-week long ‘noncooperation’ agitation in February in protest against the delay in announcing the formation of a separate state.

Though the government decided against taking any action, including wage cuts, it issued the latest order to ensure that such agitations do not affect work in future.