The strike by government employees in Kerala that has continuously captured the attention of the national media for the past two weeks has not so far affected the institutions related to IT sector in Kerala. This includes the Technopark administration, Kerala IT Mission and FRIENDS-the citizen friendly counters for payment of bills and taxes.
During the initial days of strike, the FRIENDS centers were closed all over the state. However, during the past two days normal functioning has been restored. This was possible by bringing in staff from Kerala Water Authority and Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) on deputation.
Therefore, FRIENDS has really been a friend in need for the hapless citizens who are going through hard times because of the two week long strike by government employees. Only two FRIENDS centers in Palakad and Wayanad districts of North Kerala are closed. There the centers are located inside the Civil Station premises heavily guarded by the striking unions.
Many of the employees in Technopark society are on contract and earn more than their counterparts in government departments. This explains the reason why Technopark society although under State Government control has not been affected by the on-going strike. So is the case with Kerala IT Mission Group located here where employees draw fat salaries much above their brethren in government departments.
Recently, five professionals including a COO were recruited for the Mission Group and their basic salaries range from Rs 32,000 to Rs 20,000 apart from DA, HRA, Conveyance and medical reimbursement benefits. This was done so as to attract 'real professionals' who otherwise would be distracted by lower salaries. Some of the members of the core team are getting perks and benefits much above that received by even the Chief Secretary to Government thereby inviting the envy of their counterparts in government departments.
Meanwhile, there is genuine fear and apprehension in government circles about what adverse effect the ongoing strike would have on attracting new investment in IT, biotechnology and tourism. Already there is a perception in the domestic and at the global level that Kerala is a labor problem state. In many places in the state, normal life has been affected due to protests, demonstrations and ensuing violence by striking government employees. Trading across all sectors has been affected, so is the education sector.
Meanwhile, the budget session of the Kerala Assembly is likely to be delayed on account of the strike. However, the preparation of the Financial Statement presented along with the budget is in reportedly progressing due to high level of computerization achieved in Finance Department of the State Secretariat.
Efforts are on to utilize existing ISDN connectivity to hold tele or video-conferencing between collectors of various districts and pass on government directives as early as possible. Since, the networking (LAN and WAN) of government departments is yet to be completed, the benefits of partial computerization has not helped in the daily administration in the event of strike, officials said.
R Sreekumar
Thiruvananthapuram