Hyderabad, March 31: Senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir has Condemned the decision of the State Government to cut salaries of government employees and slash payment for pensioners. He also demanded that the government release a White Paper on State finances explaining the sudden economic crisis that gripped the Telangana.
Shabbir Ali, in a media statement on Tuesday, said that the move would demoralise the government staff which has been working relentlessly for the last 10 days to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the State. “Almost all departments are involved in anti-Coronavirus operations. While the Health, Police, energy and municipal administrations departments are working on 24-hour basis to provide essential services to
common people during lockdown period, employees of other departments are taking care of logistics and other managerial tasks. It will be a shock for all the employees to learn that they would be getting only 50% of their salary this month”,; he said.
The former minister accused the government of forcing the employees to share the financial burden of war against Coronavirus. ‘Each employee, depending upon the size of his pay check, will have certain commitments to fulfil every month. It will be impossible for him/her to manage affairs with just 50% of the salary. With its wrong and hasty decision, the TRS Government is creating a new humanitarian crisis,’ he said, adding that the State Government took the decision at a wrong time as it would de-moralise the entire staff.
One can imagine the reaction of doctors or nurses, who are working relentlessly to treat Coronavirus patients, when they learn that their salaries have been cut by half. They will be in an emotional shock and it will have a directly impact on their performance,’ he said. He demanded that the government immediately withdraw the decision for cut in salaries and pensions and re-assure the employees they would not face any financial burden due to Coronavirus.