Mumbai: Passport office staff threaten strike

Representational image

Passport office employees in the city have been protesting during their lunch break since Monday. The staff says the office authorities haven't fulfilled many of their demands. Ashok Kumar, general deputy of All Passport Staff Association, said, "The protest is being held because there haven't been any promotions for a long time and positions have been vacant for months. Also, employee transfers to home states have not been happening." He also said that there were a number of applicants for the vacant positions, but the authorities were not recruiting.

Members of the All India Passport Employees Association have met with the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs on these issues several times. He also mentioned that former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had promised that she would resolve the issue but, the new MEA Subramanian Jayshankar has not said anything on the issue. If the demands are not fulfilled, the staff has threatened a strike from August 19 to 29, as per the statement by association secretary KV Vimal, assistant secretary Chandrakant Solanki, zonal secretary Ashok Kumar and Mumbai unit president Sudhakar Pawar.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates