Power Deptt’s recently regularized employees reach Samman Bhawan with salary demand.

GROUP REJECTS INTERIM RELIEF OFFER OF COLLECTING MR AND WC WAGES, WITH ARREARS, FOR NOW

VISHNU NEOPANEY
GANGTOK, 12 Aug: A section of the temporary employees of the Power & Energy Department whose services were cleared for regularization in March, but who have since then not received their salaries, gathered at the Department head office today and marched up to Mintokgang in a bid to meet the Chief Minister [who is also the Minister for Department of Personnel and Finance]. It has now been five months that these employees have not received their salaries owing to complications and discrepancies noticed in the regularization process. [read “DoP scrutiny team submits report on regularization of temp employees at Power Deptt” published in NOW! issue dated 12 August 2014]
A 6-member delegation of the employees, led by the president of the All Sikkim MR and Work-Charged Employees’ Association Pema Doma Bhutia, was invited up to Samman Bhawan, the Chief Minister’s secretariat, where they met the Power Minister DD Bhutia and the Power Department Secretary PB Subba. The core issue of the regularization process which is currently in “abeyance” will clearly take longer to resolve, and today, the employees also rejected the interim arrangement offered by the Department.
Members of the delegation, while addressing fellow employees outside Samman Bhawan after the meeting, informed that the Minister and Secretary offered them the option to collect their arrears and current wages based on their previous [before regularization] working arrangements. The employees gathered at the Ridge rejected this offer and demanded that they be paid their dues as regular employees.
When contacted to clarify this offer, the Power Secretary explained that the said arrangement was offered as an interim arrangement in light of the financial difficulties being faced by the employees while the regularization process was being evaluated properly.
He informed that those whose documents are found in order on completion of the process and whose regularization of service hence passes scrutiny, will go on to receive all their dues and arrears [as regular employees] at that time. Those MR and WC employees who were regularized in March 2014, but whose documents are now found inadequate for regularization, will continue as Muster Roll and Work-Charged employees.
As things stand, this interim arrangement has been rejected and the employees now plan to continue their protest. They remained at the Ridge outside Samman Bhawan till 4:30 p.m. and dispersed, resolving to gather again at the Department on Wednesday and march up again to Samman Bhawan and press their case demanding the “abeyance” imposed on their service regularization be lifted and their salaries released.
The MR and Work-Charged employees of Power & Energy Department has also called for support from employees at other departments.
It may be recalled that more than 1,450 temporary employees [who have completed more than 15 years of service] at the Power Department were regularized in March 2014. The process was held up once the Model Code of Conduct [owing to the elections] came into effect and was then put in abeyance when reports of widespread discrepancies in the regularization process were detected. A scrutiny by the Department of Personnel reportedly found discrepancies in more than 400 of the 1,450 personnel cleared for regularization.