Imphal, Feb 16 : Striking Manipur government employees are likely to vote against Congress and its partner, the CPI, in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections if the Secular Progressive Front coalition fails to take a decision on the employees’ demand before the polls.

About 60,000 state government employees under the banner of Joint Administrative Council of employees’ bodies have been on strike since November 27 last year demanding implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

Though the strike severely crippled functioning of the government departments, chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, who is also the finance minister, has not extended any invitation to the employees’ council for talks.

The chief minister said the present fiscal position of the state was not conducive to hiking the pay of the employees. He has made this announcement on a number of occasions during public addresses.

“The failure on the part of the chief minister has angered the employees. We are contemplating not to support the Congress and its partner, the CPI, in the Lok Sabha elections,” the publicity and information secretary of the employees’ council, L. Priyobratta said. The employees said their families would also support them.

The Congress is planning to field candidates in both the Inner and Outer Manipur parliamentary constituencies while the CPI is planning to contest the Inner constituency.

The pensioners, who are also demanding implementation of the pay commission’s recommendations, plan to take a similar stand against the ruling parties in Lok Sabha elections. 

As part of their agitation, the employees will launch an “office shut down” from tomorrow. 

“We will turn up at our offices on time, sign the attendance resisters, but we will not work as we are on strike. The employees will leave their respective offices at the stroke of 1pm daily,” Priyobratta said. 

The decision to start the new “office shut down” phase came after conducting a series of sit-ins by the employees, which ended on January 30.

Sources said the council’s move to leave the office by 1pm was taken in view of the fact that senior officials were forcing the employees to work in spite of the strike. The council also asked visitors to leave government offices by 1pm. 

“We will wait for response of the government for some more days. If we do not receive any response we may leave the offices by 11am or noon,” he said. 

The employees’ council will also send memorandums to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, AICC president Sonia Gandhi and other Union ministers and MPs seeking their intervention in the matter.