GTA Chairman seeks CM's intervention to resolve adhoc employees' impasse
Darjeeling: Anit Thapa, Chairman, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has requested Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to intervene in the GTA adhoc employees' impasse. The adhoc employees' are on an agitation path demanding regularization.
Thapa in a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apprised her of the long-pending issue relating to the adhoc employees of the erstwhile DGHC who were later transferred to the GTA.
As on date, there is a total of 310 group A; 521 group B; 2526 group C and 775 group D category employees working in GTA against the existing 303 vacancies in group A; 345 in group B; 1783 in group C and 1848 in group D category.
"All these employees were engaged by the then DGHC authorities against the existing vacancies of the departments transferred to the autonomous body. Since 2007, these employees have been continuously agitating for regularization of their services" stated Thapa in the letter.
The adhoc employees currently have the status of Pay Band employees as per notification number 9008-F(P) dated 16th September 2011 of the finance department, Government of West Bengal.
In 2009, a letter was issued by the then Additional Chief Secretary, Home & Hill Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal bearing no. 1636-HSPA/09 dated 17th September 2009 wherein the then-District Magistrate, Darjeeling was authorized to start the recruitment and regularization process of these ad hoc employees against the sanctioned vacancies in all categories as per the existing Act and recruitment rules.
"However, the process of regularization could not start due to political reasons. Since then the process has been put on hold" stated the letter.
Thapa apprised the CM that the adhoc employees under the aegis of United Employees Association have been agitating since August 17, 2020, holding protests in front of GTA offices. They have also written to the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs department, Government of West Bengal, regarding their plea.
With no positive response, the employees have embarked on a pen-down strike from 1st September 2020. However, all emergent services and Covid-19 related services have been exempted.
"Therefore, I would like to earnestly request your kind intervention in the matter so that the regularization of the ad-hoc employees of GTA is completed at the earliest. This benign intervention of yours would go a long way in reducing the hardship faced by the poor employees for decades" requested the letter.
