The apathy to the longstanding demand of about 7,500 diploma engineers, workings in different units of Steel Authority of India
limited (SAIl), for being given junior engineer designation even after a directive given by the Union Steel Ministry has sparked strong resentment among them.
The Diploma Engineer Federation of India is contemplating to go for agitation to get the demand fulfilled. Significantly, while other public sectors have been appointing diploma engineers as junior engineer, SAIl has been appointing them as technician.
Sources said while the diploma engineers used to get designations in various State and Central Government organisations, they are working as senior technician/technician in SAIl since long. Considering thedisparity, the diploma engineers of SAIl, coming under the banner of Diploma Engineer of Ispat (DEFI), have been demanding for a junior engineer designation and a separate promotion policy. Meanwhile, they have submitted representations a number of times with different authorities, including SAIl higher authorities and the Union Steel Ministry, etc.
In their submission, they have argued that in each organization, there are two categories of workforce, i.e executive, supervisor and worker where as in SAIl there are two categories only, i.e. executive and worker.
"An engineering diploma holder designated as a technician in SAIl is a serious injustice and creating unimaginable agony and frustration among about 7,500 diploma engineer mass of SAIl," they said.
The DEFI mentioned in one of their representations to SAIl management. "Due to this defective policy, the diploma engineer face unclear job responsibility, complicated promotion policy as unskilled workers of the organisation sometime supersede them after promotion," they added. While SAIl management had been ignoring the demand of the DEFI, the Union Steel Ministry for the first time, about six months back, had considered the demand as genuine.