Patna, May 16: Over 150 members of Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) water board employees, who had called for an indefinite strike starting tomorrow, have agreed to suspend their agitation after senior administrative officials invited them for talks.

They had earlier threatened to stall the water supply services for the entire corporation area from tomorrow, and were demanding that all their outstanding salaries be paid immediately.

Jyoti Gupta, the leader of the agitating employees’ union, said the employees decided to withdraw the agitation after she received a letter from the PMC commissioner today, inviting her for talks.

“We had planned to proceed on an indefinite strike tomorrow. It would have affected the water supply of the city severely. However, the PMC commissioner has invited us for a dialogue. We will decide future course of action after tomorrow’s meeting,” Gupta told The Telegraph. She add-ed that of total 260 employees in the department, including regular and contractual workers, 150 were keen to adopt a “no pay, no work” policy.

“As a large number of these employees are water pump drivers and conductors, their absence from work is bound to hit the water supply in the city,” she also said.

Earlier this month, employees had stormed the PMC office at Mauryalok complex to demand outstanding sala-ries and had sat on dharna.

Gupta said those on the master roles have not been paid salaries for past six months. The daily-wage employees and those on contract had not been paid even longer.

The protesting employees had also gone on a symbolic two-day strike from May 10, after their agitation in March this year failed to achieve the desired goals.

“After the PMC employees went on strike this March, we were promised that the payments will be cleared before Holi. So, we returned to work. However, we were paid only one month’s salary. The rest of the dues have not been cleared yet. We are feeling cheated and do not want to work under these circumstances,” said Birju Paswan, an employee of the PMC water board.

In March, around 3,500 employees of PMC and water board had gone on strike with similar grievances. Employees associated with Indian National Trade Union Congress and Patna Nagar Nigam Staff Union returned to work after three days. The senior urban development department officials, who had promised that all the dues would be cleared soon, had persuaded them.

The employees have also been demanding employment for the family member of Dayanand Ram, a daily-wage employee of water board who had died after immolating himself outside the PMC office in September last year.

“Ram committed suicide, as he was unable to feed his family because of non-payment of salary for months. The PMC had promised that his widow would get a job on compassionate grounds. She was even sent a letter but nothing has happened till date,” said Gupta.