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| State Govt's refusal to enhance age limit needs closer look | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Oct 6: State government has finally come out in the open against its employees invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and directing the police to crackdown on its employees.
State Finance Minister has told the legislative assembly in session these days that the government employees are out on holding the people hostage by locking offices and resorting to uncalled for strikes, Dharnas and Gheraos. The Finance Minister has categorically stated now that unless the State Assembly passes a resolution on the issue the Government would not agree to enhance the retirement age of its employees.
Joining the discussion MLA Kulgam and CPI M leader, Yusuf Tarigami tried his best to bat for the striking employees and independent MLA from Langate Er. Rasheed asked the State Government why it had not been coming clean with facts about the negotiations with its employees and the reasons for the failure of the same.
It was in fact the assertion By Yusuf Tarigami that made the State Government come out with a statement on the floor of the house with regard to the employees strike.
Tarigami had asked the Government two days before the Finance Minister's speech why was not the house taken into confidence about the serious issue pertaining to the employees strike and could the house help end the impasse between the employees and the State Government.
Finance Minister has said all the demands of the employees had been addressed except the issue of enhancement of retirement age. The State Government also said 56000 out of 58000 daily wagers had been regularized so far.
Facts on the ground are, however, different from the Government's assertions. The State Government employees have said the issue of regularization of daily wagers is still pending and the various administrative departments have been delaying the issue with one or the other query into this issue. Employees leader say no daily wager engaged with effect from April 1, 1994 has been regularized while people have been engaged as daily wagers by the State Government beyond this cut off date in violation of its own SRO 64 of 1994.
The committee formed by the State Government to look into the demand of enhancement in the retirement age, according to the employees leaders has clearly recommended two-year enhancement in the same to bring it at par with that of the central government employees.
Financial experts have dismissed the official assertion that the issue of enhancement in the retirement age has any bearing on the burning problem of unemployment in the State. If the Government enhances the upper limit for serving Government employees it can also increase the lower limit that is the minimum recruitment age for Government service from the existing 37 to 39 years.
How can we justify the re-engagements of retired bureaucrats and at the same time not agree to enhancement in the retirement age of employees as a matter of principle? How can the top bureaucrats be considered to be mentally and physically fir beyond 58 years when the poor peon who opens the door of their office be considered unfit for this petty job after the age of 58? These are questions those need to be addressed after rising above rhetoric and brinkmanship. It can only be hoped that the confrontation between the State Government and its work force ends sooner than later, but justifying arrests, non-payment of wages etc would only add to the people's problems and not solve them for the State Government either. |
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