Bengaluru: Municipal employees from corporations across Karnataka on Tuesday staged a symbolic strike against the State government seeking fulfillment of various demands. The protest began this morning at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru. Employees of the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike), along with staff from various municipal corporations across the state, took leave from work to participate in the protest at Freedom Park here. Ten municipal corporations in the State were shut down today. Additionally, employees took mass leave to participate in the protest. Among the list of demands of the employees include the withdrawal of the Logsafe attendance system, filling up of 6,000 vacant posts and an end to the "suspension of employees for silly reasons." They are also demanding a reduction in the number of marshals on duty, and promotions for engineers based on seniority, among others. "Our corporation provides all services from birth to death, so we are demanding facilities from the state government, including KGID, General Provident Fund and Jyothi Sanjeevini Scheme. We also demand C&R in promotions. We have consulted ministers in the government," a participant at the protest said. Another participant, named Rajiv said that the corporation employees don't feel a part of the government of Karnataka. "They are treating us as a semi-government. When we came here with the completion of the KVC (Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan), why are we not considered a part of it?" He further said, "Once Grampanchayat is upgraded into Pattan Panchayat, it becomes semi-governmental. However, if one remains a part of Grampanchayat, then they remain to be a part of the government. How is that fair?." "Our main demand is that we all should be considered as government employees. We should also get all the benefits," he said.
