*Over 16,000 to benefit, exchequer to save about Rs 2000 cr
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 3: Going ahead with damage control exercise after debacle in Parliament elections, the National Conference-Congress coalition Government today conceded long pending demand of over 4.5 lakh Government employees to increase their retirement age from 58 years to 60 years, thus, bringing them at par with the Central Government staff.
Simultaneously, the Government increased qualifying age of unemployed youths for the Government jobs from 37 years to 40 years, reserved category candidates from 40 years to 43 years and physically challenged candidates from 39 years to 42 years. The increase in qualifying age would cover all Government jobs other than those filled through the Combined Competitive Examination conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and would come into force with retrospective effect from January 1, 2014.
The increase in retirement age will have effect from June 1, 2014, which means that no Government employee would retire in the next two years excepting IAS, IPS and IFS officers, whose retirement age is already 60.
Official sources told the Excelsior that about 16,700 Government and public sector employees were due to retire in the next two years, who would benefit from today’s decision of the State Cabinet to increase retirement age by two years. The Government exchequer would save about Rs 2000 crores in next two years, which it had to pay to the employees in the form of retirement benefits.
Excelsior had exclusively reported that the Government was in the process of effecting increase in retirement age of the Government employees and simultaneously the qualifying age for unemployed youths for the Government jobs.
In another significant decision, the Government was likely to regularize daily wagers and need based employees in three phases for which a policy decision would be announced by the Finance Department within one month. The daily wagers and need based employees engaged in different Departments could be regularized in three phases pending which they would get regular wages every month. The first phase would cover daily wagers and need based staff engaged from 1994 to 2005, the second phase would cover the youth engaged from 2005 to 2009 and in the third phase the workers engaged from 2009 to 2013 would be regularized.
Sources said a decision on likely regularization of daily wagers and need based employees was taken by the cabinet, which met today in Srinagar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah after PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Sham Lal Sharma pointed out that along with decision on increase in retirement age of the Government employees, a comprehensive package should also be announced for the unemployed youths, daily wagers and need based employees engaged in different Government departments.
Sharma said the Cabinet agreed to the demand raised by him and directed the Finance Department to frame a policy within one month for regularization of daily wagers and need based employees. Pending regularization, the Government directed that all the daily wagers and need based workers should get wages every month. At present, they were getting wages after two or three months.
Sources said there were about 40,000 daily wagers and need based workers engaged in different Departments. In PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control alone, there were 20,000 such workers. While several other workers were posted in Power Development and other Departments, who would be benefits by the Government decision.
However, an official handout issued by the Government, made no mention of regularization of daily wagers and need based workers engaged after 31.1.1994.
The handout said: “the Cabinet with regard to the demand of the Employees’ Unions for the regularization of casual/temporary/need based labourers, engaged after 31.1.1994, ordered that all the Departments shall submit the requisite details to the Finance Department by the end of June 2014 in order to enable the Cabinet Sub Committee headed by the Finance Minister to prepare an appropriate policy for them’’.
There had been long pending demand by various political parties, employees and other organisations for regularization of daily wagers and need based employees engaged after 1994 but the Government paid no heed to the demand till NC-Congress lost all six Parliamentary seats and started finding reasons for the debacle.
Finally, sources said, the Government had to formulate plan for regularization of daily wagers and need based workers in time frame and payment of regular wages to them every month. The Government feels that not only its 4.5 lakh regular employees apart from daily wagers and need based workers had voted en masse against coalition candidates as their demands were not conceded and instead ESMO was invoked on them.
However, with Assembly elections due in next few months, the Government hoped that its slew of measures would help coalition partners regain the lost ground. The Government has already revoked New Job Policy under which the fresh recruits were reduced to daily wagers and ban on SMS service on pre-paid mobile phones.
Sources said the increase in qualifying age for Government jobs for unemployed youths would not apply to the posts already advertised for which the last date fixed by the recruiting agencies has expired. Recruitment against the posts, which have been advertised before January 1, 2014 shall continue to be governed by the age applicable to the relevant point of time.
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand told reporters that the Congress fully endorsed the Government decision to increase retirement age of the Government employees from 58 years to 60 years.
In fact, he said, the decision was part of the Congress manifesto.
Former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has repeatedly stated that he wanted to increase retirement age of the employees from 58 to 60 years but his Government was brought down about six months ahead of the completion of term in 2008, Tara Chand pointed out.
He said the Congress was trying to get the retirement age of the employees increased from 58 years to 60 years for the last five years and finally achieved the success today. “We fully support the decision. In fact, it was also our initiative to see to it that the decision (to increase the retirement age of the employees) was smoothly cleared by the Cabinet,’’ he added.
Meanwhile, anticipating resentment among the unemployed youths due to increase in retirement age of the Government employees, the Cabinet increased qualifying age for jobs by three years i.e. one year more than increase in the retirement age. At the same time, the Government has asked its all Departments to refer all vacancies to the recruitment agencies so that the unemployment didn’t increase due to increase in the retirement age.
The Government was likely to advertise some additional vacancies for recruitment.
According to sources, about 16,700 Government and public sector employees were due to retire in the next two years, who would benefit by the Cabinet decision to increase retirement age from 58 years to 60 years. As the Cabinet decision has been given effect of June 1, 2014, no Government employee would retire in the next two years i.e. till June 30, 2016 excepting for the IAS, IPS and IFS officers, whose retirement age is already 60. Though it would block some vacancies for unemployed youths, the Government hoped to compensate them by creating additional vacancies including some recruitment on adhoc basis.
According to sources, the Government over a period of two years would save roughly about Rs 2000 crores, which had to be given to retiring employees as retirement benefits.
The Cabinet decision to increase retirement age of the Government employees came after a meeting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had this afternoon with representatives of the Government employees. In the meeting, all other pending issues of the employees were also addressed. After discussions with representatives of the employees, Omar ordered withdrawal of cases registered against the employees under ESMO and dies-non (two days cut in service) against the agitating employees during their strike in favour of their demands.
An announcement for increase in retirement age of employees from 58 to 60 years and the upper age limit for youth to obtain Government job from 37 to 40 years was first made in a meeting Omar had with representatives of the Government employees. He also announced the deadline of one month for finalizing the regularization of adhoc employees whose cases are under process in the Finance Department.
“I will strongly advocate the enhancement of age issue in the Cabinet and make sure that it is approved to the satisfaction of the employees”, he said in meeting with the employees, which took place before the Cabinet. He directed Chief Secretary, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey, who along with Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, B. B. Vyas and Secretary General Administration Department, Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari was flanking him in the meeting he took with leaders of Employees Joint Consultative Committee (EJCC) to take action for withdrawing all cases instituted against agitating employees under ESMO. He said he has already given orders for withdrawal of dies-non against agitating employees.
Omar constituted a Committee comprising Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Secretary General Administration Department to study all other demands of the employees outside the ambit of Finance Department for finalizing and reporting with its recommendations in a one month’s period.
“I will personally monitor the functioning of this Committee and all other issues pertaining to the welfare of employees and talk to representatives of employees myself without any mediators. We will be meeting every month to sort-out issues and cement the relations between the Government and its employees”, he said adding that after a period of month he will share the findings and recommendations of the Committee he constituted in the meeting led by the Chief Secretary with the representatives of the employees.
The Chief Minister fixed a deadline of one month for the Finance Department to finalize the recommendations on casual employees. He said his Government has always been employee-friendly and it took historic and hard decisions in favour of its employees despite severe financial conditions. “We provided you with 6th Pay Commission benefits, its arrears and host of other facilities to improve your conditions and are ready to sort-out all pending issues with you in a friendly and amicable atmosphere”, he told the representatives of employees of all Government employee associations of the State.
Omar said that much politics has been done on the issue of enhancing retirement age of government employees. “Many played double role in this regard and while talking to employees they extended their support to them and to youth they told that it would be counter-productive for the interests of unemployed youth”, he said, adding that enhancement of retirement age will have no effect on recruitment of youth as the Government will continue the recruitment process to fill up the vacant posts in different Government departments.
He said no wrong impression should be given to the youth in this regard and no politics needs to be done on this important welfare measure any more.
The Chief Minister made a mention of the role played by Chief Secretary, Mohammad Iqbal Khandey in advocating and justifying the need to enhance the retirement age of Government employees and extending him the highest support in this regard.
Earlier, the President EJCC, Abdul Qayoom Wani and its convenor, Rouf Ahmad Bhat in their speeches expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for his keenness to ensure redressal of all grievances of the employees.
“It is the historic fact that you intervened at all junctures to approve 6th Pay Commission recommendations in favour of Government employees as also payment of the huge amount of Rs. 4200 crores as arrears to the employees. We also want to place it on record that your sagacity and employee-friendly approach made all problems easy to solve”, they said and complimented the Chief Minister for taking initiative to resolve all issues with employees. They said that they convey the gratitude of all the employees of Jammu and Kashmir to the Chief Minister for his keenness for the welfare of Government employees.
Maintaining that the enhancement in the retirement age of the Government employees was the long pending issue and assurance given by the Government, Minister for Finance and Ladakh Affairs, Abdul Rahim Rather said that it has fulfilled the long pending demands of the Government employees and their Unions.
The Minster was addressing a press conference at after the Government announced the decision of enhancement of the retirement age from 58 to 60 years. Ministers for Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar and CAPD, Ch. Mohammad Ramzan were also present.
Rather said that the decision of enhancing the retirement age was under the active consideration of the Government for long and consensus was finally achieved after series of meetings with the employees and their Unions. He said that since it was a long pending demand and the Cabinet while taking a considerate view of the employees increased the retirement age.
Referring to the enhancement of the recruitment age into Government service from 37 to 40 and in case of reserve categories from 40 to 43, the Minster said it would increase the employment opportunities of the persons who would like to join the Government sector which is one of the biggest job providers to the people of the State.
Rather said that the Cabinet has also decided to give one month time to different departments to provide information about the need based and casual employees so that an appropriate decision can be taken about them. This information would be accordingly passed on to the Cabinet Sub Committee constituted for the purpose and an adequate mechanism formulated for them, he added.
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