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| Govt's callous attitude pushes employees on confrontation course | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, July 25: The state of Jammu and Kashmir is one of those fabled states where the rulers have no dearth of finances and facilities but the very employees on whose strength and sweat the government runs are denied their due and lawful rights.
It has been the practice of all the successive governments in the state to hold its workforce at ransom. This is sometimes done in the name of discipline and sometimes in the name of financial constraints. The government does not bat an eyelid when its senior most bureaucrats indulge in fancies with respect to the expenditures incurred by them in order to make their living luxurious and princely.
A small example would suffice to bring home the point. No government official can install an AC in his office or official residential without the explicit permission of the state chief secretary. Even the state director general of police (DGP) who is a very high ranking officer, cannot do so without the permission of the government. A cursory look at even some of the district level offices, not to speak of those at the provincial and the state level, proves that the rule not to install AC's in government offices and official residences without the explicit permission of the competent authority is observed only in its breach. There are scores of examples to prove that adherence to financial discipline is not something the state government is very meticulous about and therefore, it does not have the right to be proud of its financial prudence.
But, when it comes to releasing the hard earned dues to its employees, the state government suddenly becomes financially wise and prudent. There are no resources to meet the demands of the government employees who have been asking the state government to do nothing more than keep its own promises.
Police is instead deployed to beat, humiliate, harass and arrest the state government employees who are not demanding the sky and the stars. A government that is harsh and unjust to its own workforce is callous and insensitive to the problems of the common man as well. How can the government claim to be concerned about the plight of the ordinary citizen when it is so irresponsible and insensitive to the problems of the very government employees whose hard work and sweat make the wheels of governance move in J&K?
There is no problem in entertaining guests of the ministers in state owned guest houses, tourist huts, club guest houses, hired hotels etc without payment of even a penny towards the state exchequer. There is no problem allowing some ministers let their imagination fly when it comes to demanding luxuries for their personal benefit. Yet, when the government employees demand payment of arrears as per the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission those have already been accepted by the state government, there are no funds to meet the liability. Yet when the state government employees demand regularization of daily wagers for which government orders have already been issued and credit already claimed by the state government, there are no funds. When the employees demand that wages of Anganwari workers be enhanced, there are no funds. The demands of the government employees are not only completely justified, but these are also legally binding on the state government.
The employees of the state are neither adamant nor irrational. They are ready to engage in a dialogue with the state government with respect to their demand for the enhancement in the retirement age from the existing 58 to 60. The employees are prepared to discuss the implications of such a decision on the unemployed youth in the state. But, what prevents the state government from implementing its own decisions with regard to the payment of arrears to its employees? The adamant attitude of the state government has now forced the employees to go on confrontation with the government. They have already announced an agitation programme. The government has to understand that a stand off between it and the employees would paralyze its functioning. The common man in the state is already overburdened by red tapism and now another confrontation between the government and its employees is finally going to hit the common man hard. But, who cares? Who listens? AC's and visits to hill stations have made our government numb and insensitive. |
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