Sachivalayam Employees Block Visakhapatnam RTC Complex and Clash With Police Over Work Pressures

Hundreds of Village and Ward Secretariat (Sachivalayam) employees staged a major sit-in protest at the Dwaraka RTC Complex junction in Visakhapatnam, completely blocking all approach roads and paralyzing city traffic. Chanting the slogan "Udyogam Chestham... Oodigam Cheyyam" ("We will do our jobs, not servitude"), the workers sat on the road to protest excessive work pressures and administrative indignities, stranding thousands of daily commuters and bus passengers. The situation quickly escalated when police attempted to forcefully evict the crowd and detain union coordinators, triggering a physical scuffle and pushing match as employees linked arms and sat on the asphalt to resist arrest.

The demonstration was sparked by intense daily work pressure, exhausting administrative duties, and what employees describe as degrading assignments. Protesters voiced sharp frustration over being forced to paste government publicity pamphlets on private homes and carry out repetitive, app-based surveys demanding personal details and mobile OTPs, which has led to public hostility and suspicion from residents. In addition, over 60% of the secretariat cadre consists of women, yet staff are routinely forced to conduct field verifications and attend meetings past 6:00 PM without security or transport. Workers also emphasized that the government's staff "rationalization" and forced deputations to other departments have left offices shorthanded, doubling the workload on the remaining personnel.

Represented by the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Sachivalayam Employees Associations, the staff are demanding immediate resolution of a 22-point charter. Their key demands include enforcing a legally binding job chart to ban ad-hoc tasks, releasing long-delayed notional increments and Automatic Advancement Scheme (AAS) benefits, halting staff downsizing, and replacing the requirement for ruling-party MLA recommendation letters with an open, transparent online transfer system. Union leaders declared that unless the state government initiates direct talks to resolve their 22 demands, secretariat employees across all 26 districts will launch an indefinite statewide strike and complete service boycott beginning October 2.