Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): Zila Parishad workers in Shimla called off their 22-day-long strike on Saturday after a meeting with Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh.

Zilla Parishad officers and employees went on strike demanding that they be absorbed into the Panchayati Raj Department, adding that they were not getting the benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission.

After a meeting with the minister concerned, all the employees and officers decided to call off the strike and return to work from Monday.

On Saturday, a delegation of the Zilla Parishad Employees Federation met the Panchayati Raj Minister. After the meeting, which lasted about an hour, the workers decided to call off the protest on the assurance of the government.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the minister said the workers, upon being assured that their demands would be fulfilled in a phased manner, decided to resume work on Monday.

Termination letters to the protesting Zilla Parishad employees would also be withdrawn, he added.

Rajesh Thakur, the state president of the Zilla Parishad Employees Federation, said, "After meeting the Panchayati Raj Minister, I decided to call off the strike. All the employees would return to work from Monday itself."

He said the minister assured them that their demand for being absorbed into the department would be addressed before the budget.

A meeting will also be organised in the State Secretariat on October 30, which will be chaired by the Panchayati Raj Minister. The officials of the department and the employees of the federation employees would also be present at the meeting.

The agenda of the meeting will be the merger of employees with the department.

"The protesting Zilla Parishad employees have withdrawn their strike. They were assured that the government would fulfil all their demands in a phased manner," the minister said.