Imphal: Manipur government employees got their paychecks despite a month-long cease-work strike. Residents are furious. They demand to know how the state processed payroll while shuttering essential services for the public.
The strike started July 1. Unions including the Manipur Government Services Federation and the Manipur Secretariat Services Association walked off the job. They want higher pay, better pensions, and the 8th Pay Commission implemented. Meanwhile, citizens report that land records, certificates, and license applications sit gathering dust in empty offices.
Critics note that salary disbursement requires complex administrative steps. It needs bill preparation, verification, and final Treasury authorization. If staff could clear those hurdles, people argue the state should have kept front-line offices open. "Many have questioned why the same administrative effort used to process salaries could not be extended to ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential public services."
Employees claim the work was finished before the walkout began. The public isn't buying it. Suspicion grew after several departments kept posting updates on social media during the stoppage. This suggests the office machines never stopped running, just the public support.
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