Andhra Pradesh Government Employees Federation Chairman Kakarla Venkatramireddy has strongly criticised the police action against village and ward secretariat employees during their protest. He said the way women employees were allegedly dragged on the road was inhumane and questioned the government’s approach towards its own employees.
Venkatramireddy also questioned why employees were not allowed to put up a tent at Dharna Chowk for their protest.
‘Employees Facing Excessive Work Pressure’
Venkatramireddy alleged that government employees are facing increasing work pressure and harassment. He claimed that some employees are suffering serious health problems at a young age and argued that excessive workload could be one of the contributing factors.
He criticised the government for assigning secretariat employees to various duties beyond their regular responsibilities. According to him, employees were deployed for activities such as Yoga Andhra programmes, P4 initiatives, festival arrangements and fuel station duties.
Employees Deployed for Various Government Programmes
He alleged that employees are being assigned different duties on a regular basis, including surveys and field-level programmes. He said employees are being made to work even on Sundays and public holidays, leaving them with little time for their regular office responsibilities.
Venkatramireddy described such practices as an excessive burden on village and ward secretariat employees and said the situation needs to be addressed.
Appeal to Police
He also appealed to the police not to treat fellow government employees harshly while dealing with protests. He said employees should be treated with dignity and their grievances should be heard through dialogue.
Venkatramireddy said the village and ward secretariat employees’ protest succeeded despite several restrictions and obstacles. He warned that action against employees who participated in the protest would not be accepted.
Question Over Secretariat System
Venkatramireddy also raised a political question over whether village and ward secretariat employees are facing pressure because the system was introduced during the tenure of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
He further said employees would demonstrate their strength during the upcoming local body elections.
