GGSIPU staff seek withdrawal of pay recovery

Ananya Panda

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 26

The decision of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) to revoke its 2016 order of salary-hike of its non-teaching staff with retrospective effect from January 1, 2006 after over one-and-a-half years of its implementation has left the varsity’s employees worrying.

In a recent order obtained by The Tribune, GGSIPU Registrar Satnam Singh, citing a Delhi government’s Services Department’s circular dated October 21, 2016, has directed the university’s accounts department to withdraw the benefits of enhanced pay granted in lines with the ‘orders 57 and 58’— of the government dated February 3, 2015 — and initiate the process of recovery of dues from the concerned employees.

“The Accounts Department is directed to refix the pay of all affected employees within one month,” read the order dated August 10, 2018 issued by the registrar.

The pay for the employees were upgraded by the varsity after they approved a proposal based on the orders in a board meeting on March 15, 2016. Subsequently, GGSIPU implemented the orders with effect from January 1, 2006 and granted the enhanced salaries alongwith arrears to over 100 employees.

Over 100 non-teaching employees affected by the move call it “arbitrary and unfair” urging Vice Chancellor professor Anil Tyagi to rollback the decision failing which they will be left in “lurch”.

They maintain if the university revises their salaries to lower grade pay and recovery of the benefits already granted, it will cause financial hardships to them and their families.

As per the government’s Order 57, the GGSIPU revised the pay for general assistants/ senior stenographers/ technical assistants upgrading it from Rs 4,200 grade pay to Rs 4,600 while the Order 58 covering assistants/ stenographers/ laboratory assistants increased their grade pay from Rs 2,400 to Rs 4,200.

However, the Delhi government in a circular issued on June 6, 2016 clarified that the orders were for its own employees (Grade II and III DASS and stenographers), but not for public sector undertakings, local bodies, grant-in-aid institutions, autonomous bodies and commissions even as they can offer a similar pay upgradation to its employees in consultation with the finance department and with due approval of the competent authority.

“The university says it paid us wrongly and arrears will need to be recovered. Imagine, it will be in lakh and from where will we return the money? Many have paid off loan instalments or have used it in other works. We will be devastated if the university withdraws order no 57 and 58,” says an employee on condition of anonymity.