Nearly 300,000 employees said they would not return to work until the government ended its retrenchment drive and raised their retirement age to 60.

Sources said the strike had affected work at the secretariat, collectorates, sub-divisional and block-level offices.

Chief Secretary K.A.H Subramanian said he had invited representatives of different employees' unions for a dialogue, but they could not reach a solution.

--Indo-Asian News Service