Bhubaneswar/Berhampur, June 30: Employees of various prisons including the Jharapara special jail in the state capital today staged a silent protest by wearing black badges demanding pay at par with their police counterparts.

Today’s protest was part of a three-day silent protest call given by the All Orissa Jail Employees Association (AOJEA).

The association’s Bhubaneswar sub-committee president Dayamaya Mallick said they had submitted a 12-point charter of demands to the inspector-general (prisons) and the home secretary three months ago.

“We had given the authorities three months time for fulfilling of our demands. As the time lapsed yesterday, we have started the protest in a democratic manner across the state. If the government does not pay heed to our demands, we would begin a hunger strike from July 3 on the day of rath yatra,” said Mallick.

The jail staff have demanded proper work hours and provision of modern weapons for their own protection. At present, the staff work on two or three short shifts a day and the total time comes to around nine hours. “We have to guard hardened criminals who keep threatening us whenever we deny them favours,” said warder Santosh Panda.

Two years ago, a jail warder of the Jharpada special jail was gunned down by some hired killers for not showing favours to a jail inmate. All the 52 staff of Jharpada participated in the protest without hampering the jail work. In Berhampur circle jail, 86 warders, head warders and chief head warders wore black badges.

“We would wear black badges and perform our regular duty till July 2. We would sit on dharna in front of the main gate of the jail on July 3 to press for our demands. When the basic pay of a policeman is Rs 5,200 a month, the basic pay of a jail warder of the same rank is only Rs 4,400,” said Biswanath Panda, president of the association’s circle committee, Berhampur.

“ Police personnel working in Naxal areas are getting 15 per cent of the basic pay as special allowance, but we don’t get a single pie,” said Panda.

The jail employees are demanding salary at par with the police personnel, introduction of eight-hour shifts, increase in the number of the jail employees and equipping the jail employees with sophisticated weapons for self-defence.