The State government came under flak for alleged neglect of panchayat employees whose demand for pay revision has not been conceded so far.
This came to the fore during the district convention of Karnataka State Gram Panchayat Employees Association, held in the city on Sunday.
The association president M.B. Nadagouda, said that the panchayat workers were ensuring that the government facilities and benefits of various welfare schemes reach the doorsteps of the villagers. Yet, the panchayat employees’ demand for upward revision of pay has been ignored by the government, he added.
The government came under flak for what the association president said was an effort to introduce privatisation within the panchayat system. The government has started appointing “Jala Sakhis” on lower wages to replace watermen, and there are plans to abolish the post of tax collectors and computer operators by outsourcing the work on contract basis similar to the prevailing model in Tamil Nadu, said Mr. Nadagouda. “By doing so, the government is working behind the scenes to throw Panchayat employees out onto the streets,” he added.
Accusing the government of not paying even the minimum wages to the panchayat workers to match the increase in rising prices, he said the present policies of the government was both “anti-employee” and “anti-people”.
CITU district president G. Jayaram, Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha district secretary Jagadish Surya, and others were present.
The convention also elected district delegates to participate in the State-level conference to be held at Yadgir from September 12 to 14.
The conference resolved to intensify the struggle in support of their demands which included regularisation of the services of all panchayat employees as government staff, seeking a minimum wage of ₹31,000 per month, pension of ₹11,000 per month for retired workers etc.
Published – August 31, 2025 07:07 pm IST
