In a statement on Tuesday, general secretary of All-Gujarat Class IV Employees' Union G K Solanki said they would go on strike from May 20, if the VMC did not deposit the differential amount which is pending.

The corporation, which is the first civic body in Gujarat to have accepted the Commission's recommendations, has started giving revised salary and also deposited 50 per cent of the arrears. However, the decision to pay the remaining amount -- an estimated Rs 1.50 crore -- is pending with the Committee since March.

Solanki said if any epidemic broke out during their strike period, the VMC officers and the elected body would be responsible.

While the Union has threatened to go on indefinite strike from May 20 if their demand is not fulfilled, the Vadodara Municipal Drivers' Association, affiliated with the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), has demanded that the demand be fulfilled by May 14 or else they would go on strike. The Association had submitted a memorandum to Mayor Bharti Vyas late on Monday evening.

Solanki has claimed that there are no provisions, both at the State and Central levels, to deduct salaries of the striking employees.

When contacted, Committee Chairman N V Patel said the VMC would not bow down to pressure. ``The Vadodara Municipal Corporation is already suffering an additional yearly burden of Rs 18 crore for paying revised salaries,'' he said, adding that they planned to give the differential amount in phased manner.

He said they wouldn't have included the item in the committee slated for Thursday, if they did not have the intention of paying.