Bihar Intermediate Council members protest on the Bihar School Examination Board premises in Patna on Friday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Bihar School Examination Board chairman Rajmani Singh and board secretary Lalan Jha were kept confined to their office chambers for over an hour by more than 200 Bihar Intermediate Council employees.

The council employees are on strike since August 13 in support of various demands, including pay fixation according to the Sixth Pay Commission, provision of jobs on compensatory grounds, regular and time-bound promotions among others.

On Friday, around 200 employees barged into the board premises, disrupted work, prevented employees from performing their duties and locked the chairman and the secretary in their respective rooms.

Sensing trouble, the Kotwali police station was informed by the board employees. The president of Bihar Intermediate Council Employees’ Union, Sanjay Kumar Singh, said: “We have been on strike since August 13 but neither the state government nor the Bihar board is ready to listen to us.”

Singh said that the council was merged with the board in 2007.

According to the terms and conditions, the council employees were to be absorbed by the board and their salary was to be revised according to the Sixth Pay Commission, along with promotion of employees of the council as in the board.

In July, the education department directed the board to absorb services of the council employees.

Singh said: “Even after the education department directed the board to absorb employees of the council, the board has not settled the issue.”

Singh claimed that the board’s contention is that till the state government creates new posts for absorbing around 500 employees, they can’t do any thing.

The strike, however, has affected students the most as they are facing problems in getting certificate and other documents.

Anil Prasad, a passout from Khudiram Bose Inter College, Muzaffarpur, who had come to get his pass certificate, said: “Since the past week, I have been trying to get my document. I have not received the certificate because of the strike.”

Neither the board chairman nor the secretary could be contacted despite repeated attempts.