Ranchi, March 23: Fresh after returning from the funeral of Bhrigu Pandey at Nalanda on Friday, the co-ordination committee of employees’ federations today declared that the strike by Grade IV staff at the secretariat would continue till their demands of promotions and bonus payments were acceded.

The federation declared that instructions have been passed on to all the affiliated unions to go all out till the demands of the agitating employees were met and the state government agreed to bear all expenses relating to the education of the wards Pandey and adequate compensation was paid to his kin.

“Grade IV employees will continue to sit on dharna in front of Nepal House and Project Bhavan. They would stay away from work till their demands were met. Grade IV staff, who are on strike since March 7, will continue with the agitation till the state government pays cash compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased,” a terse statement issued by the co-ordination committee stated.

Members of all unions also decided to launch satyagraha in front of the Raj Bhavan on March 27.

The statement was signed by the general secretaries of the Jharkhand Rajya Sachivalaya Chaturth Vargiya Karmachari Sangh, Non-Gazetted Employees’ Federation and Sachivalaya Seva Sangh.

However, the president of the Jharkhand Rajya Sachivalaya Chaturth Vargiya Karmachari Sangh, Shashi Bhushan Prasad Singh, said that they had also decided to demand that a statue of Pandey, declared a martyr, be put up at Project Bhavan.

Pandey, a Grade IV employee and posted at the finance department at the secretariat, succumbed to his injuries at Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi, on March 19, having sustained more than 70 per cent burns in an immolation bid attempted by him on March 7.

“We have demanded a cash compensation of Rs 50 lakh to Pandey’s family. We are willing to settle if the government pays compensation of Rs 10 lakh and bear education expenses of the eligible wards of the deceased, as in the case of all those killed in Naxalite attacks,” Singheshwar Singh, the president of the Non-Gazetted Employees’ Federation said.