State government employees across India are preparing for a massive Parliament March on April 11, 2025, to protest the central government’s privatization policies and highlight long-standing grievances, particularly the disparity in benefits compared to central government employees.
The decision to organize the march was made during a two-day meeting of the All India State Government Employees Confederation, held at Mukesh Gupta Bhavan in Kolkata on January 5 and 6, 2025. Addressing media personnel at the Manipur Press Club, Meinam Joykumar, President of the Confederation’s Manipur Unit, shared details about the upcoming protest.
Joykumar emphasized that state government employees, especially teaching staff, have been grappling with numerous challenges since the introduction of the new pension scheme, which replaced the older, more robust system. He criticized the current setup for depriving state employees of several benefits that their central counterparts continue to enjoy.
He also raised concerns over the central government’s privatization policies, asserting that they have negatively impacted not just government employees but also common citizens and students. “Privatization has created a broader crisis, affecting multiple sections of society,” Joykumar said.
Discussing Manipur’s specific issues, Joykumar highlighted the difficulties state government employees face in attending work due to ongoing crises in the region. These concerns were also addressed at the Kolkata meeting, he noted.
Joykumar assured that trade unions and other employee organizations from Manipur would actively participate in the Parliament March. The protest aims to draw attention to the inequities faced by state government employees and oppose policies perceived as detrimental to the welfare of workers and the public at large.