Vijayawada: As the unrest among employees was brewing over pending issues, the state govt invited them to the discussion table and held the first round of talks on Saturday, which ended inconclusively. Ministers Kolusu Parthasaradhi and Anagani Satya Prasad said that the state govt is committed to resolving all pending issues positively, and the next round of talks will be held on July 21.The ministers held discussions with representatives of AP JAC Amaravati and various employees’ associations at the state secretariat on issues relating to service conditions, welfare measures and pending demands.Speaking to reporters after the meeting, information and public relations minister Kolusu Parthasaradhi said employee unions had submitted a list of 23 demands, all of which were discussed in detail. He said chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu was positive towards resolving employees’ issues, while also taking into account the state’s financial constraints.Parthasaradhi said finance minister Payyavula Keshav could not attend the meeting due to prior engagements. He attributed the present situation to the previous govt’s failure to address employees’ issues and said the current govt was making efforts to find solutions. He urged employee organisations to defer their proposed agitation programmes until the next round of talks.Revenue, registrations and stamps minister Anagani Satya Prasad said the discussions were held in a cordial atmosphere and reiterated that the chief minister was positively inclined towards resolving employees’ concerns. He said the govt had examined all 23 demands and would discuss possible solutions at the next meeting.During the meeting, representatives of AP JAC Amaravati, led by chairman Bopparaju Venkateswarlu, raised various service-related and welfare issues concerning govt employees. Constitution of Pay Revision Commission (PRC), announcement of interim relief, release of pending DAs and arrears were at the top of the charter of demands submitted by the JAC.Representatives of various employee associations, including retired employees, municipal employees, revenue employees, drivers, headmasters, outsourcing staff, ward and village secretariat employees, and women’s committees, participated in the meeting.
