Bhubaneswar, Feb 18: Diploma engineers today began their two-day long protest on Mahatma Gandhi Marg in front of the state assembly. they demanded the removal of existing cadre and pay scale disparities among them. They are also demanding a better pay package.

Around 500 engineers went in a procession from the railway station demanding fulfillment of their demands. They said that there are around 8,000 diploma engineers working for the state government in various sectors under its different departments, but there are huge disparities among them due to the faulty policies of the government.

'We have presented a seven-point charter of demands to the state government and we expect the authorities would try to solve our problems. We have been posing the demands before the state government for last several years, but the authorities pay no heed to them. If our matters are not considered and demands not fulfilled this time we will collectively bunk our office work from March,' said Narendra Kumar Nayak, general secretary of the Odisha Diploma Engineers' Service Association.

The diploma engineers said that the state government had earlier taken decision of providing grade pays to these engineers after their promotions following completion of 10 years, 20 years and 30 years, but this was not followed later on. Similarly those working in the Panchayatiraj department have not been promoted to government engineering cadre due to some faulty policies. There are some smaller departments of the government in which less number of diploma engineers have been deployed, they are not promoted to engineering cadre and not getting proper benefits.

'We demand equal treatment as the degree engineers during cadre restructure, grad pay and those who do not get such benefits to be provided with financial assistance. Besides there is government police of 50 percent post to filled up by new recruitments and rest through promotions, but in our sector only 30 per cent are promoted. We want it to be made 50 per cent like all other government jobs,' said Nirmal Chandra Swain, president of the association.

The diploma engineers said that they have been working in rural areas where the degree engineers do not want to go, but they are paid very less.