Assembly Speaker Dinesh Oraon gave a ruling to carve out a committee of House members who would look into regularisation issue of 271staffers working at Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) on contractual basis. The decision is taken after members cutting across party lines expressed sympathy over the workers’ predicament and pressed for their regularisation.
The matter came into fore after nominated member Glen Joseph Galstaun raised the issue by bringing ‘Calling Attention Motion’ on Wednesday. The member expressing his concern said that the staff are working for last five years and have become expert in their work.
“The JAC had recruited 271 staffs on daily wages basis against 352 vacancies and they are performing well. But they also feel frightened as their positions are not regularised. They are also getting lesser wages without benefits like PF etc. They are contributing in the good work of JAC and their services should be regularised,” said Galstaun.
Urban Development Minister CP Singh also pitched in saying that the staffs are working for long and have gained sufficient experience and skills to work efficiently. “In any case the Government has not to bear the cost of the staffs after regularisation thus a direction can be given to JAC in this regard,” said Singh.
On this Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saryu Roy accepted that the staffs are working for long time but added that several appointments made were alleged to be illegal. He at the same time also said that staffs working on similar grounds in other councils and authorities in the State should also be treated similarly.
However Human Resource Development Minister Neera Yadav tied to brush aside the demand saying that vigilance probe is on against the illegal appointments made on contractual basis. “Their services can be regularised after the outcome of the probe. At the same time we should also keep into mind that JAC is an autonomous body,” said Yadav.
BJP’s Radha Krishna Kishor objected to the contention of Neera Yadav and said that if the appointments are illegal how it is that the JAC is taking work from them. While JMM’s Stephen Marandi said that the casual staffs should be regularised on humanitarian grounds. The members also questioned the logic of regularising service of a staff’s wife on compensatory grounds after he had died.
Reacting on all this the Speaker said that a House panel comprising Ministers of Parliamentary Affairs, HRD, leader of Opposition and Secretaries from Personnel, Finance, Education should look into all the aspects involved.
“The Government has expressed its intention on doing new recruitments and this matter should also be considered sympathetically. We all know that people with backings get upper hands in contractual appointments while numerous qualified persons and those from rural backgrounds suffer. I hereby order to form the panel in my chairmanship that would submit a report within a week time on the issue of regularising services of contractual staffs of JAC,” said Dinesh Oraon.