Chandigarh employees hail decision to extend Central Services Rules

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 28

An overwhelming section of UT employees today welcomed the announcement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the implementation of Central Service Rules in Chandigarh from April 1.

Also read: Centre's Chandigarh move bid to infringe on Punjab's rights: Bhagwant Mann

A delegation of the Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union and the UT Nursing Staff Union called on former MP Satya Pal Jain and thanked him for taking up the issue with the government.

Jain strongly criticised the statement issued by the Punjab Chief Minister and some other leaders opposing this decision. Jain said the Punjab Government itself was not able to pay proper salary and accept the recommendations of various Pay Commissions for its employees, whereas the Central Government, in one go, had accepted the long-pending demand of the UT employees.

He said this decision did not go against the interest of any state, may be Punjab or Haryana, and it did not affect the ratio of 60-40 visualised by the Punjab Reorganisation Act.

He said even thousands of UT employees, who would get the benefit of this announcement, mostly belong to Punjab. Therefore, those, who were opposing this decision, were in fact opposing the interest of Punjabi employees too.

Jain said this decision was within the jurisdiction and competence of the Central Government and did not violate any provision of the Punjab Reorganisation Act.

He said, to say in simple words, earlier UT employees were getting salary, allowances, etc., on the Punjab pattern, which was less. Now, they would be paid the same on the pattern of the Central Government, which was more beneficial to them. He said those who were opposing it were taking an anti-employees stand.

Welcoming the decision, the Joint Action committee of Teachers stated that it would be more beneficial for UT employees to shift over to the Central Services Rules.

“I personally feel that the decision taken by the Union Home Minister regarding extending the Central Service Rules to the employees of the Chandigarh Administration is in the interest of UT employees. This will definitely help in streaming the working system in the Administration. We are governed by one set of rules now. Presently, there is a mixture of Punjab and Centre rules which is leading to confusion,” said a senior UT official.

Dr Dharmendra, president, Government Teachers’ Union (Democratic), Chandigarh, said the Central Government had given a big relief to the UT employees by implementing the Service Rules and Pay Scales of the Central Government for employees of the Chandigarh Administration. The employees had been demanding Central pay scale and service rule for quite some time now.

Outsourced, contract workers oppose decision

Members of the Chandigarh Subordinate Services Federation staged a protest for saving the future of nearly 20,000 outsourced and contractual workers working in Chandigarh from being ruined due to the implementation of the Central pay scale and Central Service Rules in Chandigarh.

In a memorandum to city BJP president Arun Sood, the protesters stated that with the implementation of the Central Service Rules, only regular workers would be benefited. On the contrary, thousands of outsourced and contractual workers would suffer a huge loss. With the implementation of this Rule, the retirement age of regular employees would be increased from 58 years to 60 years and the upper age limit for new recruitment would be reduced from 37 years to 28 years.

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