'Political vendetta against govt employees and workers'; V Sivankutty warns of strong protest

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Labour Minister and CITU State Secretary V. Sivankutty has said that there will be strong protests against what he described as the government's unilateral actions against government employees and workers, including politically motivated dismissals.

In his Facebook post, Sivankutty alleged that the government has started transfer procedures in departments such as KSRTC, KSEB, and the Kerala Water Authority without consulting even the recognised trade unions. He said CITU has been forced to launch protests at Vydyuthi Bhavan and Transport Bhavan against these decisions.

He also criticised the dismissal of temporary and contract employees in various government departments without following any clear criteria. He said 134 employees working under the Kudumbashree CDMG project have been removed, along with daily wage workers from the Construction Workers Welfare Board and the Motor Workers Welfare Board.

Sivankutty said similar actions have taken place in the Civil Supplies Department. He also alleged that the contracts of doctors and therapists in the Indian Systems of Medicine Department have not been renewed, with files remaining pending. He claimed that established procedures have also been ignored in the case of NHM employees. In addition, he said employees at K-DISC have not received their salaries since May.

He stated that no temporary employees were dismissed during the previous 10 years of the LDF government. According to him, the present government's actions appear to be politically motivated and are unacceptable.

Sivankutty said that although these issues had been brought to the attention of the concerned ministers, it was disappointing that the government was unwilling to hold discussions with the CITU leadership.