MUMBAI, July 31: Over 1.45 lakh central revenue employees will stage a walkout from their respective offices on August 20 to protest against the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission.

This will be followed by a morcha led to the residence of finance minister P Chidambaram in Delhi by the revenue staff there.

This decision was announced after a lunch-hour demonstration held at all the commissionerates of income tax, central excise and customs on Monday and Tuesday. Leaders of the co-ordination committee of employees federations in the department of revenue had met at the Mumbai Custom House. They are further contemplating an indefinite nationwide strike call in September to protest against the pay commission's report.

The decision is arrived at as a part of agitation plans chalked out by the national convention of the employees of the three main revenue-earning departments under the Union ministry of finance held at Chennai Custom House on May 27.

Before giving the call on Monday, joint conveners of the federation KKN Kutty and Shankar Biswas had met finance minister and revenue secretary NK Singh around March this year and submitted a memorandum of demands.Singh, incidentally, is a member of the steering committee comprising three secretaries which has been set up to look into the grievances of the government staff. He had, reportedly, assured the federation members that the committee will look into the demands.

However, when the government accepted the pay panel report, it did not reflect any of the demands raised by the revenue staff. After two months Biswas and Kutty decided to give a walkout call.

According to sources in the federation, the agitated revenue staff is likely to intensify the stir by giving an indefinite strike call. If implemented, the threat could adversely effect national revenue.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.