Dimapur, March 8: The State’s Public Works Department (PWD) has been dragged to the Court in relation to issues associated with its work-charged employees, once again.
On Tuesday, the Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court directed the Department and the State Government to consider within one month pleas filed by three PWD work-charged employees seeking regularisation of their respective services following their completion of 30 continuous years as work-charged employees.
Last year, the three workers-Yamlao, Inpi Konyak and Moaba Konyak, all work-charged employees at the establishment of Executive Engineer, PWD (R&B), Aboi Division-had filed separate writ petitions before the Court.
All three of them had the same story to tell: they were appointed as Work-Charged Scale Employees and in 2009, their salaries were enhanced.
But since the pay given to them was not enough for maintenance of their respective families, they submitted representations to Chief Engineer, PWD (R&B) on June 14, 2020, requesting him to upgrade their scale of pay.
However, they were yet to receive any positive response from the Chief Engineer.
According to the three employees, due to their scale of pay being not upgraded they were unable to enjoy the benefit of the March 17, 2015 office memorandum (OM), which entitles existing work-charged and casual employees of various departments who have completed 30 years of continuous service to be regularised.
After hearing the parties involved in the case, Justice Arun Dev Choudhury stated that there was no dispute with respect to the existence of the OM of March 17, 2015.
“The provision of the OM clearly stipulates that all existing work-charged and casual employees of various departments who are in the scale pay and who have completed 30 years or more continuous service as on 01.01.2015, will be regularised by conversion of their posts into regular ones personal to them and subject to fulfilment of conditions”, he noted.
Thus, he directed the State respondent to consider and dispose off the representations submitted on June 14, 2020 by the petitioners, if they are found eligible in terms of the OM of March 17, 2015.
“The respondent shall make all efforts to dispose of the matter within a month’s time of the passing of this order”, he stated.
(Page News Service)
