Amaravati, September 5: Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Association president G. Ramakrishna has thanked Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for responding positively to employees’ concerns and taking several key decisions to provide relief to government employees.

Mr. Ramakrishna said the Chief Minister’s assurance that the government would address employees’ issues in a phased manner had instilled confidence among the workforce. He said a high-level meeting with representatives of employees’ associations, chaired by the Chief Minister on Saturday, was held in a positive atmosphere.

Several issues concerning the welfare of Secretariat employees were raised at the meeting, including allotment of house sites, appointment of a Pay Revision Commission (PRC) chairman, allocation of a dedicated tower for the State Secretariat in the proposed new government buildings complex, payment of pending bills, streamlining of the Employees Health Scheme (EHS) and finding a permanent and acceptable solution to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The government has decided to release two instalments of Dearness Allowance (DA) together, providing financial relief to employees, Mr. Ramakrishna said. The DA would be applicable from October 1, 2026. The government has also assured that a PRC chairman would be appointed immediately to expedite the pay revision process.

The government has decided to clear one surrender leave bill by Sankranti, according to Mr. Ramakrishna. It has also assured that steps would be taken to restore the additional quantum of pension that was available earlier and that a decision on Interim Relief (IR) would be taken shortly.

For police personnel, the government has decided to make payment for additional surrender leave from October, he said. The Chief Minister also assured that the issue of allotment of house sites to State Secretariat employees would be resolved at the earliest.

On the EHS, the government said steps would be taken to ensure that the respective government and employee contributions are deposited regularly with the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust so that cashless medical services can be provided more effectively.

Mr. Ramakrishna said the Chief Minister had acknowledged that it would not be possible to resolve all employees’ issues at once, but assured that they would be addressed in a phased manner. He appealed to employees to extend their cooperation to the government in the process.

Despite the financial challenges being faced by the State, Mr. Ramakrishna expressed gratitude to Mr. Naidu for taking several immediate decisions on employees’ issues. He also thanked Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav and Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad for taking special initiatives to resolve employees’ concerns.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Mr. Ramakrishna and the executive committee members of the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Association conveyed their gratitude on behalf of the Secretariat employees.

GUNTUR, April 21: The Progressive Recognised Teachers Union (PRTU), Andhra Pradesh State unit, staged a peaceful dharna at the Guntur district headquarters on Tuesday, pressing a wide range of long-pending demands relating to service conditions, pay revisions, and welfare measures for teachers across the State. A memorandum embodying the demands was submitted to the District Collector.

Ghantasala Srinivasarao, Chairman of the AP JAC Guntur district unit and district president of AP NGGO, who attended the event as chief guest, said the problems faced by teachers had remained unresolved for a long time and called upon the government to respond promptly and take steps towards their redressal. He underlined that teacher welfare was indispensable to strengthening the education system.

Key demands

The union's demands centred on several service-related issues. These included the framing of comprehensive service rules, constitution of a new Pay Revision Commission (PRC) with a 30 per cent interior relief, and abolition of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) with restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Teachers who entered service through the 2003 DSC were specifically demanded to be brought under OPS. The union also called for clearance of pending Dearness Allowance arrears, GPF, APGLI, and Earned Leave encashment dues.

Other demands included restoration of GO 302, filling of Junior Lecturer promotion vacancies, implementation of the 70:30 ratio — allotting 70 per cent of Secondary Grade Teacher promotions to SA Telugu and Hindi posts — and opening of GPF accounts for Municipal Corporation teachers. The union further sought reclassification of School Complex Headmasters as Grade-1 HMs, and promotions for Urdu and Oriya language teachers.

Staffing and institutional demands

The union demanded appointment of Hostel Welfare Officers in tribal residential schools, deployment of Data Entry Operators in every high school and model primary school, and restriction of teacher rationalisation exercises to once every five years. It also sought exemption of in-service teachers from the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

Further, the PRTU called for merger of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, Model Schools, and Gurukulas into the government system under the Master Teacher Scale (MTS), regularisation of Art, Craft, Drawing, and Physical Education teachers working under SSA as full-time employees, and extension of MTS benefits to CRT and CMRT staff with a 60 per cent wage hike.

The union also demanded implementation of the Employee Health Scheme (EHS) with insurance coverage for both government and private school teachers, and immediate resolution of issues faced by aided school teachers.

The leaders urged the District Collector to consider the demands sympathetically, recommend them to the State government, and take initiative for their early resolution.

Among those who participated were G.V.S. Ramakrishna, D. Srinivasareddy, Rambabau, Shyam Moses, M. Venkateswarrao, M. Chandrakishor, Y. Nagamani, and Sheikh Abdul Razak.