As it was believed to be a trusted job, a person after getting the government jab was considered a lucky one. At times, the people would give up the private jobs where they would earn many times more salary than the government jobs, they wanted to join. Aspirants would move to every nook and corner in search of government jobs. Actually, a person would opt for a government job to secure his future, including his post-retirement life, which becomes the most dependent period of one’s life, with the hope that it would fetch a good pension after retirement.
But over a period of past few years, with the changing job policies in the state, in order to save state exchequer, a government job is losing its credibility in one way or the other
In the year 2010, the NPS “new pension scheme” was introduced by the government of Jammu and Kashmir to shed off the overburden, of funds to be paid as pension to state government employees after the retirement. It discouraged the newly recruited employees a lot. As per new pension scheme, ten percent of employees salary working under NPS and ten percent of matching share from government has to buy a pension plan at the time of retirement, which may not be at par with old pension scheme in terms of it’s post retirement benefits.
In the department of education, thousands of Rebar-e-Taleem Teachers and in the department of agriculture thousands of Rehbar-Zirat Employees, who had joined concerned departments from 2005 or before with the hope that the would get the benefit of old pension scheme, were also brought under NPS after their regularisation. Because they were regularised after 1st January 2010, which was the date, the NPS was effective from.
Another blow to the aspirants of government service in Jammu and Kashmir was SRO-202. As per the SRO, the employees who are even recruited with a proper procedure by JKSSB ” Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board” and JKPSC “Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission” in recent years have to work on consolidated pay for five years of their initial service. “Despite the promises of government with us, that they will revoke the SRO, we are still waiting for the same”, said a recently selected lecturer under the said SRO.
Presently, there are thousands of daily waged workers who were supposed to get regularised after a few years of their engagement, are yet to be regularised, after working as daily waged workers for decades together. There are also thousands of unregularised NHM and contractual employees sailing in the same boat.
No doubt, if at the eleventh hour of their service, when they are getting to touch the age of retirement, government has taken a step forward to regularise the daily waged workers, which was a ray of hope for them, but at the same time, as per the newly formulated rules by state government of Jammu and Kashmir for regularisation of daily wagers, they have to work on consolidated pay even after their regularisation. Which is an open injustice with them? Either the government should not have engaged them at the beginning or they should have been regularised at proper maturity of their services at par with other government employees of the state.
Leaving aside the misery of those who seek their regularisation as permanent employees, the irony is that, the employees who are already working as permanent employees have also been derived from so many rights. The permanent teachers working in the department of education from last fifteen years, who were regularised after rendering five years satisfactory service as Rehabar-Taleem Teachers to the department, on a meager remuneration of rupees fifteen hundred then enhanced to rupees three thousand per month, have been deprived from many rights which are enjoyed by all other permanent employees of the state.
They are facing many issues which include salary issue, transfer issue, promotional issue etc. Despite the high court directions in favour of their transfer, the transfer right, which upgrades the experience, and exposure of an employee, has not yet been formulated for Rehbar-e-Taleem Teachers. The women folk who are on dire need of transfer on marriage grounds are made to suffer the most without any reason.
Many unfortunate Rehabar-e-Taleem Teachers, who are being paid their salaries from the funds released from centre “MHRD” under “Sarva Shiksha Abiyan” are sailing in a half drowned boat. Because the centre releases the funds for a salary of those teachers once or twice in a year and asks the state government to manage deficit part of their salary component from state funds. But neither the centre nor the state finance department cares for them and they suffer for their due earned salaries for many months.
Though they receive the salary but not monthly. Every time when they receive the salary of one month three months salary remains pending. “Despite many claims made by state government that their salary will be streamlined and will be paid from state funds on monthly basis, whenever the centre will delay to release the same, still those teachers are suffering on ground due to pendency of many month’s salary and arrears, which brings them under various hardships to run their households,” said a Rehbar-e-Taleem Teacher working under SSA.
Recently, with a lame reason that department is short of funds, the education department has stopped the time bound promotion of Rehabare-Taleem Teachers, which is due for every employee after attaining the seniority of nine years. Citing the same reason department also stopped the regularisation of those unregularised Rehabare-Taleem Teachers who have completed their initial five year’s service, till the department will get funds available for their salary and arrears.
However in order to win the support of four and a half lac state government employees, government is all set to implement much awaited 7th pay commission recommended benefit to state government employees from April this year, which was due from January 2016. Government has claimed that it has not enough funds for the same, but as it was the commitment of state government to its employees, they would manage the pay hike as per the recommendations of 7th pay commission, by taking loan from centre any how. But at the same time there are implications that for the arrears employees have to wait long.
Now if the state government is really facing financial crisis, why it targets it’s employees only , who also have to run their households on their salaries. This negative attitude of government towards its employees is not only bringing the employees under mental stress but is also leaving a bad impression on educated unemployed youth.
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