Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Aug 7: A deputation of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Officers’ Association (Indirect Taxes) called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances,Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh and requested him to personally intervene in the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) for redressal of some of their grievances related to promotion policy and pay parity.
The deputation led by the Association President, A.K. Sharma, also submitted a memorandum which stated that the promotional hierarchy varies from department to department as a result of which several officers are forced to retire with a mere single promotion in whole of their career, whereas on the other hand, their counterparts from the common entry route, succeed in getting five to six promotions. This, they said, puts them in an embarrassing situation where they are forced to work under their extreme juniors from Customs Department belonging to the same cadre. Similarly, their counterparts from Income Tax Department are also able to reach up to the post of Commissioner and Joint Commissioner.
Alleging lack of uniform pay policy, the memorandum stated that all organized Group “A” officers recruited with the IAS in the same pay scale through common examination have been granted financial parity with their counterparts in IAS. Similarly, officers recruited as Assistant (Group “B”) in the Ministries also get benefit of promotion up to the level of Joint Secretary and above, but the Central Excise Inspectors who are also recruited as Group “B” officers through same common all-India competitive examination get only one functional promotion in 30-40 years as a result of which their counterparts in Central Secretariat Service get almost 60% more pay compared to them. This also affects their pension benefits which are lower compared to their counterparts in other services.
Members of the deputation suggested that the problem of stagnation in services can be solved if a flexible and dynamic promotion policy is introduced. They requested that on the completion of qualifying years of service as prescribed by DoPT, the promotional scheme may accordingly be made more flexible to ensure uniformity in hierarchy.
Dr. Jitendra Singh gave the deputation a patient hearing and said that DoPT is constantly working to ensure that every section of officials and employees working in the government sector should have the satisfaction of getting his or her due in time, both in terms of promotion as well as in terms of pay benefits, without any real or perceived discrimination. He assured that the observations made by the IRS officers will be examined by the DoPT and he would issue instructions for preparing a draft note to address the grievances favourably in the shortest possible time.
Follow our WhatsApp channel