Clouds of uncertainty hovering over the fate of thousands of Group-C and Group-D employees have finally cleared up as the State Government has decided to absorb them under the Odisha Group-C & Group-D Posts (Contractual Appointment) Rules, 2013.
This has come to light at the All-Secretaries Meet held here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra.
With this new rule coming into force, the employees are assured of regularisation after completion of six years of contractual service, said an official. Not only would the contractual workers be regularised, they would also be eligible for enhanced remuneration, added the official.
During the period of contractual appointment, the employees would draw a consolidated monthly remuneration equal to the initial of the corresponding Pay plus Grade Pay. Subject to satisfactory performance, such consolidated remuneration would be enhanced by 10 per cent on completion of each year of service.
The contractual employees would also be entitled to leave benefits at par with other regular State Government servants.
They would also be enrolled under the new pension scheme, which is contributory in nature and would come under the purview of conduct rules, leave rules and OCS (CC&A) rule, said the official.
It is provided in the new rule that on the date of satisfactory completion of six years of contractual service, an employee would be deemed to have been regularly appointed. Only a formal order of regular appointment would be issued in this regard.
After regular appointment, an contractual employee would be entitled to draw the time scale of pay plus grade pay with dearness allowance (DA) and other allowances as admissible in the corresponding Pay Band.
Notably, as per a judicial pronouncement, the Government had formulated a scheme in 1997 with respect to regularisation of Work Charged, NMR and DlR employees.
Another scheme was also made for regularisation of Job Contract employees of Consolidation and Settlement organisations.