More than 20 thousand employees of Beltron continue to struggle to get the status of state employee

Pattana, 4 October (ABN) – A state‑wide meeting was convened on Sunday in the auditorium of the Bihari Industries Association (BIA) in Chhajoo Bagh, Pattana, under the auspices of the Bahar State Data Entry Operator Joint Front. The meeting was attended by more than 20,000 employees, including data entry operators, programmers, stenographers, and IT boys/girls, who have been assigned to various categories through BILTRON. According to the Front, these employees have been serving in different government departments for over 25 years. During the meeting, the employees expressed their frustration with the state government and demanded that they be granted state employee status and a pay scale immediately. The Front’s supervisor, Chandr Prakash Singh, said that BILTRON employees have devoted valuable time of their lives to serving the state government. Now, most of them have also exceeded the prescribed age limit, so the government should grant them state employee status on human and policy grounds and provide them with the benefits of a pay scale.

Joint Front member Ashok Kumar Yadaw said that the state government has been continuously employing these employees since 1997. According to him, over the past 29 years, hundreds of employees have retired, but they have not received any appropriate retirement benefits. He added that BILTRON employees perform important responsibilities in government offices, not only in typing tasks but also in online services. Despite the permanent nature of their work, they have been deprived of basic facilities. He demanded that the government make a policy decision in light of relevant Supreme Court rulings as soon as possible.

Joint Front member Vishal Kumar said that for the past 29 years, BILTRON employees have been hired on a continuous contract basis, but no proper service rule has been established, nor have employees been provided with full service security. He demanded that BILTRON employees be granted state employee status and a pay scale as soon as possible, otherwise the Joint Front will launch a state‑wide staged movement. Member Nitesh Jha said that the appointment of BILTRON employees was made through the state government’s corporation in a regular manner, and reservation rosters were also adhered to in the appointment process. He said that despite relevant court orders and the Attorney General’s opinion, the lack of a policy decision in favor of the employees is a cause for concern. According to him, if the government does not decide soon, employees will be forced to take to the streets.

Raghunandan Kumar said that BILTRON employees have extremely important responsibilities in government departments and are continuously performing their duties, but they face difficulties because they do not receive basic service facilities. IT programmer Bejanath Singh Yadaw said that BILTRON employees play a key role in the execution of various digital and online tasks of the state government, yet the lack of a permanent solution for their services is regrettable. Anil Kumar Singh said that despite continuous service, the failure to regularize employees’ service is a sign of indifference. He warned that if the government does not make a policy decision within a month, the Joint Front will start a work boycott.

Female members Mrs. Sangeeta Kumar, Mrs. Manta Kumar, and Mrs. Saroj Kumar, among others, also expressed anger over the halt of a 10% annual increase for BILTRON employees. They demanded that the current facilities be maintained while a positive solution be found for the problems of employees who have been serving for years and that they be granted state employee status.

Joint Front member Pratish Kumar Pandey said that if the government does not fairly consider the demands of employees who have been serving for a long time, BILTRON employees will not only take to the streets but also demand the resignation of the Minister of Information and Technology.

At the meeting, representatives from districts such as Neelesh Kumar Jha, Santosh Kumar Yadaw, Chitrangam Chauhan, Ramapati, Narnjan Kumar Singh, Samn Sourabh, Laxman Sharma, Amit Pandey, Dilip Yadaw, Angani Kumar, Rahul Kumar, Nivin Narala, Ashok Kesri, Mathilish Gupta, Aslam Hussain, Dev Krishna Jha, Snel Kumar Mehta, Koshil Kumar, and others also expressed their views. Members of the Joint Front’s contact committee, including Manish Kumar Singh, Gudu Mishra, Anil Jha, Anuje Kumar Singh, Raviendra Kumar, Sangeet Kumar Yadaw, Sangeet Kumar, Anil Kumar Doi, Amit Kumar Ranjan, Deepak Kumar, Sine Kumar, Rajiv Kumar Jha, Manish Yadaw, Gajinder Kumar, and Abhijit Anand, among others, also demanded that the government decide quickly. The contact committee members clarified that if the government does not announce the granting of state employee status and a pay scale to BILTRON employees within a month, a strike will be declared.